The Princess and the Faerie
by MaggiesHeartLove
Summary: He was a faerie. A creature unwanted by humans, he wasn't supposed to be the hero, rescue the princess and get a happily ever after. Only, he did. My entry for the Makorra Winter Project, based on the movie "Shrek".
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my entry to the Makorra Winter Project. It's a fantasy AU based on the 2001 film Shrek. Happy New Year and Long live Makorra!**

(~)

"Okay, remember what we practiced, bro."

"I know, I know." the younger brother rolled his emerald green eyes. He knew the plan by memory. After all, they had done it hundreds of times before.

The two brothers crunched down behind the bushes, keeping a sharp eye on the campers setting up their picnic. The younger brother licked his lips at the mouth watering food the humans were setting up; potato salad, salami, and beef chicken. Nothing tasted better for them than meat. After all, it was part of their diet, but in these hard times they would also settle for potato salad and bread. Anything to fill their stomachs.

The younger brother swiftly made his way across the forest floor, moving silently like a serpent until he reached the opposite side of the campsite. The older brother smirked, the pupils of his amber eyes morphing into slits and his sharp teeth bare.

The young child turned her head, "Mommy, daddy, I think I hear something." she said.

"It was just a squirrel, dear." said her mother, "This is the safest place in the forest. Nothing to be afraid of."

Mako had to suppress the chuckle that threatened to slip from his mouth. Humans could be so naive sometimes. Which made it easier for him and his brother to swindle them. Seeing his chance, he leaped forward, standing on his two legs starring directly at the family, who quivered in fear.

Before them stood a man, but not just any man. He was tall, muscular and his amber eyes glowed with a burning hunger like flames. His skin was partly pale, but had various red scales across his forehead, cheeks, and arms. He had spiky jet black hair with scarlet spikes running down across his back, and a pair of gigantic bat-like crimson wings that practically blocked out the sun, along with a long reptilian tail that moved elegantly across the forest grounds. His forearms had both scales and spikes sticking out, that appeared to rise up and down with his breathing. His fingernails were sharp like claws, despite having human hands, and had bat-like ears instead of human ones. He wore a ragged gray shirt with short sleeves and long dark pants and was barefoot. His legs looked like that of a human, but his feet instead were sharp reptilian talons. He opened his mouth, revealing his sharp inhuman-like fangs and let out a mighty roar!

His brother also leaped from the opposite side of the camp. He had the exact same characteristics of his brother, only instead of read his scales, wings, eyes, feet and tail were green. He was only a few inches shorter than his brother with his dark hair styled back instead with a small cuff resting just above his forehead. None the less, he was just as intimidating, though not at the exact same level as his brother.

Both brothers roared at the frightened humans, snarling and spreading out their wings ready to attack. The family quickly ran for their lives, leaving everything behind but each other. Once they knew they were gone the brothers reeled back, tucking their wings back and smiling in triumph. Their slits reverting back to normal before gorging down the food the family had left behind. They didn't even bother with the forks and knives, or the napkins for that matter, they just went on and at with their hands, not caring about the food that got on their faces. They were hungry enough as it is.

The younger brother swallowed the load of bread he had taken a bite out off before speaking, "This is even better than what we ate yesterday!"

"We didn't eat yesterday." said the older brother before taking another large bite onto the salami.

"Still, so much better. Hey, Mako, you don't think we overdid it, do you?"

"What, they're still alive, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but we're not really helping much by acting all scary and mean. Don't faeries have enough trouble as it is with that Lord Amon guy in charge?"

As many of you could most likely tell at this point, the two brothers were not entirely human. They were faeries. Magical humanoid creatures with the physical traits of animals. The brothers were known as the most ferocious kind of faeries there were: Dragon Faeries.

For centuries, faeries and humans have lived side by side, but as time went one and humans evolved, creating technology and building cities of cement and stone, the faeries had a hard time adapting. They were mot meant for life in a big loud city, they were creatures of nature. Granted, they could manage to survive in a city, they just didn't feel at home. Plus, the toxic fumes of cars and factories made them nauseous enough, and the fact humans kept animals locked up in cages in these places called "zoos". Humans and faeries eventually drifted away, but things became even worse for the faeries of the kingdom of Navelon, which consisted of both the kingdom as well as various valleys, rivers and mountains, so faeries were just as affected by the new laws as any of the humans living within the confinements of the kingdom's walls. Unfortunately, the new laws spelled trouble for the faeries of the land.

Ever since King Bumi had passed away, leaving no heir to inherit the throne, his loyal advisor Amon became the new regent, as Bumi had requested of him before his passing. Amon vowed to protect the city for all its inhabitants. But, he had a hatred towards faeries. After several reports of rouge faeries terrorizing people, and this was long before the two brothers were even born, Amon had made it his sole mission to make sure the faerie folks stayed in line, or else face the consequences.

The oldest brother, Mako, knew all too well of Lord Amon's recent attempts to relocate faeries he found within the boarders of the kingdom, thankfully they lived in an isolated location where Amon's men wouldn't find them.

"Bolin, Amon's the whole reason we're stuck hustling humans for their food. Because of him we have to live in that slimy swamp for the rest of our lives."

"But maybe we don't have to. Maybe we can find a better place to call home."

"No matter where we go humans will hunt us down. The world isn't like it used to be. Even if we do find a better place who's to say they won't kick us out just like they always have?" Mako sighed bitterly, "Just eat up. You never know when we'll get another chance to eat a meal like this again." he said right before taking a large bite off the chicken.

It was a hard life for the boys, but Mako knew that life was no fairytale, despite the popular belief some cultures had about faeries. In this life it's hunt or be hunted, that was his motto. Sadly, his naive brother didn't get the message just yet, but one day he would learn.

(~)

After eating the picnic food, Mako and Bolin flew back to their swamp. It wasn't exactly the best place to live, but they managed to make the most out of it. Using their incredible strength they cut down the trees and used the wood to create a cottage, big enough for both of them. The interior was mainly made of furniture the boys had managed to get out of various dumping sites and used to their advantage. They build their own sofas, wooden tables, cabinets and even a fireplace to keep warm during the long winter nights.

Mako placed the firewood into the fireplace, inhaled deeply and breathed fire to create the warmth for the night. Bolin, sadly, had a birth defect that prevented him from breathing fire, but he wasn't bothered by it. What he lacked in fire, he made up for in strength. He was amazingly strong, being able to lift up a boulder with little to no effort whatsoever. He was the strongest dragon faerie Mako had ever known. Granted, aside from his parents, he was the only other dragon faerie he knew.

Mako sat on the cabin floor, gazing into the dancing flames before him. His mind began to wander off into the distant past, where his father would breathed fire to warm the family during the winter. His father was a strong and courageous dragon. He protected their home with all of his might. His mother was, at least in his eyes, the fairest of them all. She was wise, caring and protective. Her ruby red scaled shimmered in the light like precious gemstones. Even now as a young adult he could feel her embrace, hear her voice, feet her lips brush against his forehead to kiss him goodnight. Bolin was so young when their parents died that Mako was practically the only parent he had.

As he watched his little brother curl up into his corner for the night, Mako smiled. He gently covered Bolin's upper torso with a worn out blanket before turning in for the night as well. The fire didn't stop them from drifting off to sleep. If anything, without it they probably wouldn't even be able to sleep and dream of happier times and a possible happier future.

But Mako was a realist. He wasn't about to be swept up by fairytales and false promises. He just wasn't that kind of Faerie.

(~)

 **I know it's short but there will be more to come, just you wait and see. Let me know what you think, I hope you guys like it. Happy Makorra!**


	2. Asami, the fox faerie

(~)

The last thing Mako wanted was to be woken up by the sound of trotting footsteps. Dragon faeries had a keen sense of hearing, they could head even the tiniest mouse scatter across the floor. Bolin's eyes fluttered open pin hearing what his brother heard, his ears sifting i every direction to get a good reading on what was coming.

"Mako!" Bolin reached to rushing towards his brother to shake him awake, "You hear that?"

"Yeah, I did." Mako replied, stretching his muscular body before standing up.

"You think it's Lord Amon's men?"

"No. I don't hear swords and armor clashing."

"You said no one would find us here. Oh man, I knew scarring those people out of their picnic was a bad idea! Now they know where we are!"

"Bolin, calm down. You stay here while I go check it out."

"But-"

"Stay!" Mako demanded, making his younger brother reel back in defeat. Mako opened the door of their cabin, spread open his wings and flew off. He landed on several trees, hiding himself from view in the darkness of night. Like any respite, Mako moved from tree to tree without so much as rustling the levees. His wings and tail were flexible enough which gave him the ability to move nimbly without anyone knowing he was there. Yet another one of the reasons dragon faeries were so dangerous among both humans and faerie kind. He followed the sound, which became louder and louder as he approached. Finally, he caught sight of what it was. A group of villagers holding pitchforks and torches marking along the forest. Mako knew these were hunters, no doubt hunting for faeries. But, they picked the wrong faerie to mess with. One of the perks about being a dragon faerie was that nobody would dare cross them out of fear they would cut open their chests, rip out their hearts and devour anything that remained. In reality, dragon faeries did none of those things, only _actual_ dragons did. But, as false as that information was, Mako used it to his advantage. Especially his dragon half.

Mako followed the group, leaping ahead of them before quickly crawling down the tree trunk like a lizard and hiding in the bushes. He made sure to keep his eyes and wings visible. He smiled as the mob approached his hiding spot. Mako did the first move in tossing a rock in their path, which startled the group.

"Easy men." the leader said, "Don't do anything brash, we don't know what we're up against."

"What are you talking about? It's just a faerie!" said one of his fellow hunters."

"Do you know what a faerie could do to you? If it's a lion faerie they'll claw your eyes out. Or if it's a snake faerie they'll kill you with it's venom."

"Pray it's not a dragon faerie." another man said, "They are the most vile of them all!"

"Actually, I find that _dragons_ are far more terrifying than a mere faerie." a voice said, but it came from none of the hunters. Instead, the voice appeared to have been coming from among the trees. Another talent dragon faeries had was throwing their voices and even disguising them. Mako had his sound older and more ominous, with a hint of an echo for effect.

"They'll rip your skin off with their talons. They'll suck out your liver and squeeze the yellow from your eyeballs. Actually, it's quite good on toast." Mako chuckled, making his voice sound all the more sinister. He loved seeing the humans squirm in fear, turning their heads all around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, but it sounded as if it were the forest itself that was speaking to them.

"Show yourself, beast!" the leading hunter demanded, rising his torch upwards. Mako swiftly hid among the shadow of the stress and flew in a circle around the hunters, the power of his wings creating a gust of wind so strong their fire was blown out, leaving behind nothing but darkness. Not, even the leading hunter was terrified. One of the men screamed in terror while pointing at the golden yellow reptilian eyes that were seen through the bushes, followed by a breath of fire that aimed just above their heads, combined with a mighty roar, no doubt belonging to a dragon and not a flimsy faerie. The men screamed in terror and ran for their dear lives away from the forest. Once all was clear, Mako stepped out of his hiding place, crunching down before standing up and dusted his hands.

"Not bad, Mako. Not bad."

But just before he could head back home to his brother, Mako found that the men had dropped something in the process. It was a poster with the image of a mouse faerie on it, with words above it that read: "Wanted. Faerie creatures reward."

Mako should have expected it. One of the for Amon to rid the kingdom from faeries all together was to relocate them to other locations. In order to further the process, he had placed ransom for their capture. Once they were turned in they would be taken far away from the kingdom to who knows where. Mako shook his head and tossed the paper away. He was genuinely sad that his kind was being relocated, but the only life he had to focus on protecting was Bolin's and his own. After all, no human or other faerie gave them any sympathy when their parents died in the hands of humans. They were outcast among humans and faeries alike due to their reputation and incredible power.

As cruel as it may sound, Mako was glad it was just him and his brother. That way, they wouldn't get hurt by anybody else ever again.

(~)

The poor fox faerie winced as she watched her own kind being given away to the royal guards like old objects at a garage sale. The poor magical creatures were chained, caged and wiped like wild animals. They were families, teens, children and elderly of all kinds. It was truly heartbreaking. She sat patiently in a corner as she watched the horrible displays of abuse before her. She was a beautiful young faerie with fox-like traits. She had milky white skin with long luscious raven hair. Her red-colored markings reached from the tip of of her nose all the way to her forehead, which reached her cheeks. Her nose looked like that of a human as did most of her body, but she had naturally black colored arms with claws and fur on her arms, as well as on her human formed legs, which were black halfway bellow her knees and had paws instead of human feet. She had a long red bushy tail dipped with white and red fox ears. She wore a one shoulder dark crimson top exposing her midriff and ragged matching shorts. Her wrists were found by chains and was being pulled by a horrible old woman, ready to sell her.

But, this little faerie was one sly fox. She was not about to let these people take her away. She was going to fight for her freedom. She let out a cry of pain when the horrible woman pulled on her chains.

"Get a move on, you lazy fox!"

The girl hesitantly complied. With her head hung in depression. She stood behind the woman, waiting in the long line where the coldhearted humans offered their faerie prisoners to Amon's royal guard. With every new faerie they had delivered, the fox faerie started to limp, her face became pale and started to take in short breaths.

"What's with you?" the woman asked coldly, but the faerie only looked at her with her tired light green eyes. Her ears were lowered, her face looked nearly lifeless and she could barely stand. It was as if she were growing ill, and it showed.

"Nice try, freak." the woman yanked on the chain, not falling for this faerie's tricks, but she kept on insisting she wasn't feeling well. The moment it was her turn to be given to the guards, a man sitting on a table with two more guards beside him examined the faerie the woman had brought.

"Fox faerie, huh?" the man said, arching an eyebrow. "These aren't easy to come by."

"Oh trust me, this one's a real trouble maker." the woman stated, yanking on the faerie's chain once more, only this time the faerie passed out right then and there, laying on the ground, her eyes partly opened and her breathing slowly stopping.

"Get up! Get up, right now!" the woman yelled in anger, "You're not fooling anyone!"

One of the guards checked up on the creature, placing a finger on her wrist. "She doesn't have a pulse." he said.

"It's a trick! This is what fox faeries do! Don't believe her!"

The guard tried once more, inspecting her eyes, breathing and pulse once more. He received no response. "She's clearly dead, Saikan."

"Dispose of her." Saikan ordered before getting back to his paperwork.

"Wait, what about my money?" the woman asked, practically begging for her reward.

"Sorry, but the faerie needs to be alive. Take her away."

The woman continued to cream and kick in protest as she was being carried away by the guards. "No, no I'm telling you, she's faking it! She's a trickster! You have to believe me!"

"Take the faerie to be disposed of properly." Saikan ordered his men. The guard removed the chains form the now dead faerie and carried her limp body over his back. To everyone else, the faerie appeared to be completely dead…until the guard felt something bite his neck and screamed in agony, releasing the faerie, who pounced off of his back and leaped to the tarp of a nearby fruit vendor.

"She's alive?!"

The faerie fox gave a salute and a wink before leaping away at top speed, crawling from building to building and leaping onto the rooftops with ease. The guards ran after her on foot but the fox proved to be much faster, and cunning than the rest of them. The fox briefly stopped when a shadow loomed overhead. A royal airship hovered above her and several guards shoot arrows with their crossbows at the rooftop before sliding down on their cables. The fox faerie found herself surrounded by the group of guards. But, regardless, the fox kept her calm.

"Let's see, they're five of you and only one of me. Oh, what's a poor girl to do?" she sighed dramatically right before leaping upwards, landing on each of their heads and knocking them down in the process. She nimbly danced around one of the guards who attempted to grab her but she simply winked and flipped to the other rooftop nearby. The guard reached for his crossbow but sound it was missing.

"Looking for this?" the faerie smiled in triumph as he revealed she had taken the crossbow herself. Her green eyes glowed a bright yellow green as she began to look at her surroundings. "Maybe next time, boys!" she waved at the guards before shooting the crossbow at the side of a building and used it to slide across. Midway, she flipped and as she lowered down, she kicked the rider of a moped and took the vehicle for herself. She had seen how humans work these things, and she was a fast learner, so driving it was no problem.

She smiled mischievously as she drove off towards the gates of the kingdom, back to the forest where she belonged.

(~)

The ferry drove and drove as fast as the machine could take her, but unfortunately, in her adrenaline rush to be set free, she forgot one minor detail…she didn't check if the machine had enough gas. The moped soon gave way, and the guards were still after her. Quickly, she left the vehicle and ran on all fours as fast as she could across the forest. She panted as she ran, briefly looking back to make sure they weren't after her only to suddenly collied tithe somebody and the two rolled down across the ground.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

The fox faerie shook her head and tried to sit up, only to realize she had rammed right into a guy. A pretty cute guy with green eyes and scales across his face and bat-like ears. She knew instantly he was a faerie as well. The two stared into each other's green eyes for a few more seconds before hearing the sound of the guards coming at them. The fox faerie quickly got back up and the dragon faerie boy shielded her from the group. This was the first time he had ever seen the royal guards up close. He feared what his brother would say about this.

Upon seeing the dragon faerie, the guards stopped on their tracks. They never would have guessed to see an actual dragon faerie before, especially around these parts.

Saikan stepped forward, "You there! Faerie!"

The dragon faerie looked left and right before looking back at the guards. "You talking to me?"

"Who else would we be talking to?" Saikan pulled out a scroll from his pocket and began to read out loud, "By the order of Lord Amon, I am authorized to place you both under arrest and transport you to…" Saikain slowly stopped on his tracks at the sound of wings flapping. He and the guards looked up to see a second dragon faerie land before them, his wings outstretched to make him appear larger in size, and was far more intimidating than the green one behind him, who was still protecting the fox faerie. His scales were a ruby red and his eyes a burning amber that struck fear into the guards hearts. They knew dragon faeries were most dangerous and ruthless faeries of them all, but they never really knew until they saw for themselves.

Saikan swallowed his shock and continued to read from the scroll, "…to…a designated resettlement…facility…" but as he read, Mako walked up and gained up on him, his wings making him all the more terming, his amber eyes like reptilian slits and his sharp teeth gleaming as he smiled maliciously at the head guard.

"Oh, really? You and _what_ army?"

Saikan hesitated to turn around. When he did he saw that he was now the only guard left. Clearly, they were not brave enough to handle a faerie of this breed.

"So, what's it gonna be, Captain? Really want to see what this flimsy faerie can do?" Mako growled at the man, showing his teeth once more as if he were ready to devour him.

Just like the rest of the guards, Saikan ran off in terror, leaving the three faeries alone. The fox faerie was wide eyed in amazement. "Wow! That was incredible!" she said, only to reel back when Mako shot her an angry glare, right before he glared at his brother.

"Bolin, what did I say about wandering off?"

"I'm sorry, I heard the sound of an engine and wanted to see what it was."

"Actually, that was my fault." said the fox faerie, her ears lowering in guilt. "I stole a moped to get away from the guards. Sorry."

Mako shook his head and sighed in exasperation. "Great. Now they'll know for sure we're here. Because of your carelessness I had to swoop in to save your tail! It's only a matter of time before they come and try to take us."

"I'm sorry, Mako." Bolin said, his ears also lowering as a sign of his guilt, as well as his wings that now dragged along the floor, while he fiddled nervously with his tail, a habit he had gained over the years.

The faerie fox stepped in, "Please, don't blame your brother for my mistake. I didn't know another faerie lived here."

"Well, thanks to you It won't be long before Amon and his goons find out where we live. Let's go, Bolin."

Mako led the way back home, but Bolin looked at the beautiful fox faerie. He had never met another one of his kind before, and she most certainly must have been brave enough to escape those guards and to steal a moped. No other faerie had ever done that before.

He really wanted to introduce himself but flinched when his brother called out to him. "Bolin! Let's go!" the poor younger brother sadly complied. He waved at the fox faerie and smiled kindly before following his brother.

The fox didn't want to leave things like this. After all, they did technically save her from those guards. Not to mention she didn't have anywhere else to go, and they could use a girl with keen sight like herself. She could be of great help and she wouldn't be alone. Not to mention, she could get to know the cute green dragon faerie. It was a win win!

She got down on all fours and ran quickly towards the boys before getting back up on her two legs. "Hey, can I just say thanks for saving my tail back there. I mean, that whole 'angry-dragon' thing you had going, that was really cool."

"Why are you still following us?" Mako asked the fox rather rudely.

"Well, I don't have anywhere else to go, and I'm certainly not going back from where I came."

"Look, lady-"

"My name's Asami."

"Asami. Listen and listen carefully. Because of your risky escape we're going to have guards knocking at our door. That swamp, as horrible as it is, is the only home we have left, so your welcome on your unintentional rescue. Bye-bye!"

Asami arched an eyebrow as Mako made his way back to his and Bolin's swamp. "Sorry about that." said Bolin, "He's just very protective. But hey, at least you can get back to your friends and family now."

The fox faerie's ears lowered in sadness. "Actually…I don't have a family. Or friends."

"You don't?" Bolin looked at her with sympathy as she shook her head. Asami was all alone, just like him and Mako. The poor girl was on the run just like them. His ears perked upwards when a light bulb went off in his head, "Hey, I got a great idea! Why don't you come with us?"

"Really?"

"What?!" Mako spun around, his wings halfway open in shock.

"It'll be perfect!" said Bolin excitedly, "With my strength, your keen eye and trickery, and Mako's fire and ventriloquism, we can scare the hairs out of anybody that crosses us, even Amon!"

Mako shook his head and stepped in between the two, "No, no, no, I did not agree to this!"

"Come on, Mako. Have a heart. She's just like us."

"She's nothing like us, Bolin."

"What are you talking about?" Asami asked, tilting her head slightly to her left.

"Listen, little fox, look at us, what are we?" Mako outstretched his arms and wings, giving Asami a visual, and obvious, hint to his question.

Asami arched an eyebrow and pouted her lips in thought. "Uh….really tall?"

"No! We're Dragon Faeries! You know, the most dangerous and bloodthirsty kind there is! Doesn't that bother you?"

Asami innocently shook her head, "Not really, no."

Mako was taken a back by her response. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Oh…okay?"

"Mako, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Mako and Bolin, I like your style." she said with a wink, which made Bolin blush.

"Did you hear that, bro? She likes our style." he said while gripping his older brother's arm. Mako only shook his head and sighed in dismay. "Come on, please let her come with us." Bolin began to pout his lips and give Mako his famous puppy-dog eyes, added with his lowered ears for better results. Imagine his surprise when Asami began doing the exact same thing, and it didn't help she was mixed with that of a mammal that was characteristically cute and cuddly. The older brother groaned in exasperation before finally caving in.

"Okay fine! She can come along. But _only_ if she promises to stay in line."

Asami jumped up and down and hugged the dragon faerie. She apparently had a smilier energetic side to her just as his brother did. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret this, Mako!"

"Too late."

(~)


	3. An offer you can't refuse

(~)

If Mako didn't think he already regretted letting Asami join them, by now he was really _really_ regretting it. Despite having a close relationship, he and his brother were as different as night and day. Mako was cautious and always on alert, while Bolin was optimistic and curious about almost everything. Him befriending another faerie was a dream come true for him that he didn't waste a second in starting a conversation with Asami.

Mako tried to press his bat ears close to his head to cancel out the constant jibber jabber, even stuffing a few leafs into them but his attempts were futile. Bolin did most of the talking while Asami simply listened, highly interested in the conversation. Bolin laughed out loud as he continued his story, "And after that Mako ended up smelling like skunk for an entire month! I think I lost half of my sense of smell after that because my nose was never the same again."

Asami laughed, her tail moving elegantly behind her as they walked along the path, "Bolin you are a riot! In a good way, I mean."

"Really, you think so?" Bolin asked in surprise. No one had ever said anything like that to him before.

"Absolutely." The fox faerie smiled at the dragon faerie, the sunlight capture her flawless complexion making her look like a goddess of the forest in his eyes. He'd never met a girl like her before. He's never met any girls aside from his mother before. Bolin nervously scratched the back of his neck, his face blushing.

"You know, I'm really glad you decided to come with us, Asami."

"Yeah. Me too." the faerie herself could feel her face turning red while bitting her bottom lip.

"We're here." the two faeries snapped awake at the sound of Mako's voice. He stood over a small grassy hill overlooking his and Bolin's swamp home. It looked a lot better in the daylight but it was still a muddy, slimy swamp non the less.

"Why are we in a muddy swamp?" Asami asked, cringing her nose at the sight.

"That's our home." Mako stated with a deadpan look, making Asami's ears perk up in aware only to lower down in embarrassment. She was already making a bad impression on this guy she didn't want to make matters worse.

"Muddy and…exotic. Very exotic, I mean no one has ever thought about living in a swamp, very original choice, very original." she chuckled nervously and face palmed herself.

Bolin placed a hand on her shoulder in reassurance, "It's okay, we know it's not the best, but at least it's got plenty of space." Bolin kindly led her to their modest self-made cottage, "Welcome to our humble abode!" he outreached his arm rather dramatically, showcasing everything they had to his new friend, which wasn't really much. "We don't get too many visitors around here."

"Because we like our privacy." Mako stated bluntly.

"Well, you're a real ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Asami said, gently shifting her black paw foot across the ground. Once the door opened, Bolin kindly allowed her to walk right in.

"After you, M'Lady." he said with a bow, making Asami smile.

"My, what a gentlemen. Thanks." the faerie waked into the cottage, swiping her tail as she did and studied the decor. She was honestly impressed with what the brothers had both done with so little. They were naturally gifted builders, that was for sure. She had heard that dragon faeries had unmatched strength, and it clearly showed in their work.

"Wow. You guys did all of this?"

"Yep. Me and Mako." Bolin said as he walked in, "Took a couple of tries but I think we pulled it off."

"It shows. So, where do I sleep?"

"Outside." Mako said while pointing his thumb at the door.

"Mako! That is no way to behave in front of a lady!" Bolin exclaimed at his brother in disappointment before returning back to Asami, "I'll set up a spot for you next to the fireplace."

"That'd be great. It's been a while since I slept someplace warm. You wouldn't believe the kind of weirdoes I've come across in my travels. Like those folks who are all up in your personal space, you try to give them a hint and they won't leave you alone."

Mako crossed his arms in annoyance, "Can't say I relate." he said bitterly.

"This is gonna be so great!" Bolin said with such glee, "We can stay up, share stories and in the morning I'm making my famous blue bird honey dumplings!"

"With actual blue birds?" Asami asked hopefully.

"If there any other way to make 'em?"

"You know, I think I'm really gonna like it here."

Mako groaned in annoyance while tracing his hand across his spiky hair, "Well, while you two have your little sleepover, I'm going to go scout the perimeter a bit. It'll only be a matter of time before Amon gets word about us." he shot Asami one last glare before flying off.

"He doesn't like me very much, does he?"

"Don't take it personally." said Bolin, "He doesn't like anybody."

(~)

Mako spent the last two hours scouting the forest, keeping a watchful eye out for any signs of Amon's henchmen, or even word about the dragon faerie from some of the locals, but found nothing. Night was fast approaching and he was slowly growing tired. Maybe word hadn't gone out yet, or maybe Amon decided that since the dragon faerie was food farther away from the borders of his kingdom then he wouldn't serve much of a threat. Still, it didn't hurt to be safe. Mako learned that much over the years. Realizing he had searched every inch of the forest and with no apparent danger at the moment he retired back to the cottage.

He leaped down from a tree branch, letting out a yawn while stretching out his arms and wings and then rubbing his eyes. He was ready to get home and eat some leftover food he and Bolin saved from that picnic. That is, if he and Asami hadn't already eaten most of it. He smiled in relief once he spotted the cottage, happy to be home. Only, it wasn't quite as he had left it…

His amber eyes widened and his ears lowered in horror at the sight of his once private home now overrun by faeries! All kinds of faeries; mouse faeries, lion faeries, bird faeries, lizard faeries, butterfly faeries, deer faeries, cat faeries, dog faeries, rabbit faeries, faeries of almost any kind you could mention as far as he could see, which really wasn't much considering their isolated location. His body went numb, his mind desperately trying to come up with a good enough reason as to why his home was now a faerie village. Faeries even built up tents around the site, hanging up lanterns on the tree branches, and even a few already exiting and entering his cottage…and eating the food the brothers had left.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no!" Mako roughly made his way through the crowd, shoving various faeries in his path looking for Bolin and his new fox friend. "Bolin! Bolin!"

"Mako! Over here!" the older brother could hear his voice but couldn't see him. There was just one too many faeries in their swamp. His anger started to boil, his eyes becoming slits while glowing a bright amber. Spreading open his wings, Mako flew up, breathing fire up into the air, silencing the chattering crowd. All eyes were now on the angry dragon, hovering above their heads. Some of the smaller faeries hid in fear while others held their loved ones. Out of all the faeries there ever existed, dragon faeries were the only ones who preferred to remain away from the rest. They knew Mako would not eat them but they also knew he was most certainly not at all thrilled upon seeing his home overrun by faeries of all shapes and sizes.

" _What are you doing in my swamp?!_ " Mako roared in anger while slowly descending downwards. A spot cleared up for his landing where he finally spotted his brother and Asami.

"Don't look at me, I didn't invite them." Asami said, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Nobody invited us!" said one faerie, who was crossed with a ring tailed lemur. "We were forced to come here."

"By who?" Mako asked.

"Lord Amon." said a butterfly faerie, "He relocated all captured faeries to this place. All of our homes have been taken over by him."

"He even signed an eviction notice!" said another faerie from behind, raising up his finger like a student raising his hand in class.

"We have nowhere else to go. Believe me, we don't want to be here anymore than you want us here, _dragon_."

Mako's slit eyes reverted back to normal. Lord Amon did this. He forced all of these faeries out of their homes and into his. This home was supposed to be a sanctuary for him and his brother, but having all of these faeries in one place? For one thing, how would he be able to feed them? Food was scares enough as it was for him and Bolin, and now with Asami, imagine needing to feel practically an entire village of faeries. Not to mention, many of these kinds of faeries wouldn't last much in this environment. Some needed more space, others needed more trees, others most likely would need rivers and ponds in order to survive. Not to mention, despite not having cared much about what other faeries did with their lives, Lord Amon banishing them here still wasn't right. It just wasn't. This discrimination on faeries has gone long enough.

"So, what do we do?" Bolin asked, "I don't think I can make enough bluebird honey dumplings for a thousand faeries." he then whispered, "Plus, most of these guys are vegetarians."

Mako narrowed his eyes and addressed the crowd, "Alright, attention all faeries, let me set one thing straight; Don't get comfortable. As of this point, your welcome is officially worn out. In fact, I'm going to see Lord Amon right now and get you all off my land and back where you came from!"

The crowd was silent for a short moment before bursting into applauds. Mako didn't intend for his speech to sound like that of a hero, but it did to them. They wanted to leave just as much as he wanted them to.

"Mako, are you insane?!" Bolin said, "Amon hates faeries! What makes you think he'll want to talk to you?"

"You got any other ideas? If I don't see him we'll be stuck with an entire village of faeries to feed. We can barely feed ourselves, you think we can do the same for them?"

"He makes a good point." Asami said, right before Mako pointed his finger at her.

"You!"

"Me?"

"You escaped from Navalon, right?"

"Yeah."

"You're gonna show us the way."

Asami blinked and gently lowered Mako's pointed finger. "Okay, cool."

(~)

Footsteps echoed in the hallways of the castle, which was lit only by the dim lighting of the hallway lamps. The doors opened and the guard bowed before the man sitting high on his throne. "You summoned me, My Lord?"

"Yes." the man in the throne replied. He was a tall and handsome man of slightly tan skin, mesmerizing gray eyes and sleek dark brown hair tied in a long low ponytail. He wore a gray jacket with dark pants, gloves and a crown around his forehead. This was Lord Amon, ruler of Navalon, and the one man responsible for keeping faeries out of the picture.

"Have you come with news?"

"Yes, Sire." the guard looked down with uncertainty. "And, the results were…the same as before." the guard flinched the moment Amon slammed his fist onto the throne arm and stood up. "Bu-But we were much closer this time."

"I don't want "closer", Lieutenant. I want _results!_ " Amon's voice echoed throughout the throne room, making the Lieutenant quiver in fear. "My patience is wearing thin. I will not rest until I have her here."

"But, perhaps if you choose another-"

"I don't want another, you idiot! The only way for me to truly become king is if I wed a princess. She is the only princess suitable enough for me."

"But, Sire, every man we've sent to retrieve her has failed."

"Are you suggesting I leave my kingdom to go instead?" Amon asked, his voice oozing with venom, a subtle way to remind the Lieutenant what would happen if he dared to even think about that question.

"N-No, Sire. But, that's not our only news."

"What else is there?"

"We have received word from Saikan after her recovered from his shock. He claims to have spotted a…a…"

"A what?"

"A…A Dragon Faerie."

Amon's eyes slightly widened with interest upon hearing this. Dragon faeries were the most powerful, vicious and strongest there were. Their fearlessness was legendary, among both humans and faeries alike.

"What should you want us to do about it, my Lord?"

Amon placed his hands together in thought, pondering on this new information. No other man could bring back his prize. But, maybe it wasn't a _man_ he needed after all.

(~)

"There it is!" Asami pointed her dark colored hand towards the tall walls that surrounded the outside of the kingdom. The castle stood at the very center, with flag hanging off of the pole and dancing in the wind. Mako never in a millions years would have thought he and his brother would be doing this, but it was either this or trying to find a decent meal for those faeries. Non one sounded like a good option in his opinion.

"So, this is Navalon." he said, standing before the large wooden door which was the entrance to the land and looking upwards at the tall towers and castle before him. He had to admit, it was far less flashy than he would admit. He always thought castles were beautiful, eye-catching that they captivated the imagination, but all he got was a bland cement castle with flags. Not even so much as a dash of coloring upon the walls to make it pop. Apparently, Amon was the kind of lord who liked things bland and simple.

"Alright, let's do this." said the red dragon as he headed towards the front gate before being stopped by Asami.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there fire-breath. The minute you walk in there you'll be tossed in jail faster than a roadrunner outsmarting a coyote."

"Okay, how do _you_ propose we do this?" the minute the question left his mouth, the large wooden gates opened up. Thinking fast, Asami dragged both boys to a hiding spot behind a large boulder. Peeking over, the group spotted a group of guards leaving the castle grounds.

"I'm not sure about this." said one of the men. The faeries could practically hear him quivering in his armor.

"Lord Amon's orders were precise." said the second guard, sounding far more confident than his companion did. "We find the dragon faerie and bring it to him."

"But, aren't dragon faeries the most dangerous of their kind?" a third guard mentioned, sharing the first guard's opinion on the matter, "They breath fire for crying out loud!" the cowardly guard received a slap to the face by his commanding officer.

"Get it together, soldier! Amon wouldn't send his strongest men to take down the beast."

"Tell that to the guys who went out to rescue the princess from that pythonaconda! None of them made it out alive!"

"He's got a point."

"Thank you….wait."

The two guards quickly realized that a third party had joined their conversation. Their eyes widened upon the sight of the dragon faerie himself, standing only a couple of feet in front of them, crossing his scaly arms and smirking proudly. The men quickly took their stances, ready to fight the creature.

"Surrender now, beast, and nobody gets hurt!" the leader of the guards wielded his sword at the faerie…who easily overpowered the guard by taking his arm and flipping him over his shoulder, sending him flying all the way back over the wall, where the sound of crashing was heard from afar, followed by a man screaming; "My Cabbages!"

The rest of the guards trembled at the sight of the beast, but Mako only rolled his eyes. "I hear Amon's been wanting to see me." he said. Several of the guards nodded, while still trembling. "Well, what a coincidence…I've been _dying_ to see him too."

(~)

Imagine Amon's surprise when the doors of his castle bursted open and the men he had ordered to seek the creature returned. All but one, who would most likely be in the infirmary by now after that insanely wicked throw. The lord rose from his throne, ready to punish the men for return so quickly. There could be no possible way they would have already found the creature.

"Did I not order you men to go forth and bring me the beast?"

"Yes, sire. But, you see, he-" the guard was angrily shoves aside when Mako walked forward, his amber eyes starring directly into Amon's and the lord's eyes slightly widened in shock. "-he…found us."

So, this was the create Lord Amon who chased all the faeries of the land to Mako and Bolin's swamp. Mako had never seen this man in person before, hardly even in pictures, all he heard about was stories. And not very good ones. The man most certain carried himself as a king, despite not technically being one, but that most certainly didn't stop him. He appeared intimidating, especially with his gray and black clothing and with his hands behind his back.

"Isn't this an interesting turn of events." said the lord and he slowly descended from the plate of stairs that led upwards to his throne sand approached his guest. Bolin and Asmai stood beside him. Bolin was more visibly nervous around the man, while Asami's reaction was a mixture of worry and anger. Amon arched an eyebrow as he studied the faerie's proportions, facial features and so on. He was quite a remarkable specimen, a perfect blend between a human and a faerie, his scales the color of rubies, and his eyes like burning ambers n a fireplace. The claws on his talons were sharp enough to cut through stone, and his wings indeed looked powerful enough to lift him.

"I thought you'd be…older." said the man, "Still, It's quite an ironic twist. I send my strongest men to find you, and yet you came over to see me nonetheless."

"Yeah, why is that?" Bolin asked curiously, "I thought you hatted faeries."

"No, my boy. I just think faeries and humans have far too much baggage in our history to really be equals. I was doing faeries a favor by relocating them to a place where they can flourish and be as free and wild to their heart's content."

"Oh, really?" Asami replied sarcastically, "I totally missed that when you had us stuffed into cages and placed for ransom!"

"My apologies if my methods came off as a tad…cruel at first. But I assure you, it was for the better."

"The better? You had every faerie crammed into my swamp!" Mako exclaimed, his wings slightly opening in reaction to his anger.

"Your swamp?"

"Yeah, _my_ swamp! Where you dumped all of those faeries! The place isn't big enough for an entire village. That's why I'm here."

Amon studied the young lad's features for a moment. He knew that look anywhere. It was determination. A fire burning within him. Despite being a creature he despised, even though he attempted to make the facade that he did not just to get on his good side, he could relate to this.

"Indeed." he finally said, after a moment of silence. "You know, young man, you remind me a lot of myself."

"I'm nothing like you!" Mako spatted, the spikes on his back slightly rising, the sharp edges glistening in the light.

"Maybe not equal in everything, but I admire a boy with fire in his heart. The true soul of a dragon. Which is why I called you here." Amon walked towards a golden studded table in the corner of the room, where plates and cups were placed. His poured himself a cup of steaming hot tea and took a sip. Before him was a map of the entire land, from his kingdom, to the swamp, all the way to the farthest corners, just beyond the boarders.

"Ever since King Bumi's passing I had worked my fingers to the bone in keeping this kingdom running perfectly. And in doing so, I had to make some hard sacrifices. But, such as the reality of life, I am not meant to be here forever. And since Bumi left no remaining heir, and only the son of a king can inherit the throne, the only way for Navalon to continue thriving is with a king."

"But, you're not a king, technically." said Bolin, right before covering his mouth. To his relief, Amon remained unfazed.

"True. But, I can become one. All I need to do is marry a princess."

Mako tilted his head in confusion. Why was this man speaking to him about princesses and future kings? He wanted to get his home back not hear about his miserable love life.

"Sadly, there are no eligible princesses I can court….except for one." using a long measuring stick, Amon pointed to a specific location on the map, "There, in a tall tower lives a princess. My sources tell me is the the daughter of a neighboring kingdom but was sent to the tower to await the day someone would rescue her."

"Nice story, but what does this have to do with our home?" Mako asked, already growing impatient.

"I propose a deal." Amon said as he turned around to face them, "Go to the tower, bring me the princess and when you do I will give back your home."

"What about the other faeries?" Asami asked.

"I assure you I will find a better home for them." he said, but Asami did not fully believe him. She didn't trust this man, not one bit.

"Wait, isn't that the princess with the pythonaconda?" Bolin asked, fiddling with his tail nervously, "And where no man had come out alive?"

"Yes." Amon replied, "But, if I'm not mistake, _you_ are not all man, are you?" Amon's gaze laded directly onto Mako, who secretly felt hurt over that remark. He already knew his kind were ostracized among people, he didn't need to be remind of it by him. Mako pondered for a moment before speaking.

"You'll give back our swamp? _Exactly_ the way it was?"

"Down to the last toad stool."

"And the faeries?"

"As good as gone. So, what do you say?"

(~)


	4. Quest to find the princess

(~)

"Little quest, my tail bone!" Bolin exclaimed as he and the others made their out of the kingdom, the big wooden doors closing behind them. "We're gonna go fight a pythonaconda and rescue some princess just so Amon will give us back our swamp which we only don't have because he filled it with faeries in the first place. Am I the only one who thinks we got jacked?"

"Have I mentioned I have a problem with snakes?" Asami said, "Snakes of any kind really. Cobras, rattlesnakes, field snakes, and pythonacondas, _especially_ pythonacondas!"

"I don't remember inviting you along." Mako said, who was already taking the lead. The plan was simple, find the tower, get the princess, come back and get the swamp back. Simple, right?

"I just don't get it, why didn't you guys pull some of that dragon stuff? You know, breath fire, give a roar, claw the walls, or something."

"Oh, great idea!" Mako said, giving a sarcastic smile, "Or maybe we could have decapitated all his guards and put their heads in a spike, cut open their spleens and drink their fluids. That sound good to you?"

Asami didn't know if to feel disgusted or mortified. "Uh…no, not really."

"Besides, even if we could do all that stuff, I can't." said Bolin, his ears lowering in regret, along with his wings. "I can't breath fire. I never could."

Asami could feel her heart breaking upon hearing this new information. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"For your information, there's a lot more to dragon faeries than people think." Mako said as they continued to walk along the path, further and further away from the castle. Asami and Bolin walked side by side. While Bolin was perfectly fine with admitting he couldn't breath fire, that didn't mean Mako had to be so harsh about it.

Asami could easily understand what Mako meant about this. Bolin most certainly wasn't like other faerie dragons she had heard about, and she was happy for that. Even Mako wasn't entirely all that bad. "Okay. I get that." she said as she and Bolin walked closer beside him, "Just because you guys have a reputation of being all ferocious and scary doesn't necessarily mean you have to be."

"Exactly, you're catching on!" Bolin said, before placing his hands together in a prayer form, changing to tone to sound more insightful, "You see Asami, we dragon faeries have a lot of "layers" if you will. Like an onion. Or a lasagna." he began to lose his insightful tone and reverted back to his dorky, silly self, "Or those things in the cups with the layers of fruit or nuts and ice cream, what are they called?"

"Parfaits?"

"Parfaits, that's it!"

"Or cake? Cake has layers."

"That is true. You know, a lot of food actually has layers doesn't it."

"Great, now I'm hungry."

Mako clenched his ears before screaming at the top of his lungs, "Will you both knock it off!" his angry yell was enough to make the birds in the trees flap their wings and fly up into the sky in terror.

"I was just trying to explain it to Asami. Besides, everybody loves cake."

"I don't care what everyone likes! Dragon faeries are not like cakes. Let's just find the castle, get the princess so we can get our swamp back!" Mako sighed and spread open his wings, "We'll get there faster if we fly. Come on." the older brother crunched for a moment before flinging himself into the sky. Bolin carried Asami bridal style and also took off. Asami immediately blushed at being his close to Bolin. He was so strong. Even Bolin liked having Asami this close to him. Maybe this quest wasn't such a bad idea after all.

(~)

After several hours of flying above the landscapes, the brothers and Asami finally spotted the tower down bellow them. "There it is." Mako pointed downwards to the tower that would supposedly have the princess inside. Upon seeing it both Bolin and Asami's eyes widened in horror. The tower was made out entirely out of dark colored stone, appearing more like the ruins of an old castle having been abandoned for years, maybe decades. It stood on a rock, underneath a boiling lake of lava. All this _and_ there was a man-eating, and faerie-eating, monster inside its walls, it was no wonder so many had lost their lives trying to rescue that princess.

The group landed onto the rocky edge that surrounded the area, with the lava lake and tower just in front of them. Bolin gently lowered Asami down, secretly upset that he he had to let her go now, and cringed at the sight of the lava. "Wow. This girl's got an impressive security system."

The hairs on Asami's back and tail literally stood up, "Uh, guys. Remember when we were talking about dragon faeries having layers."

"Yeah?" Mako asked, his eyes focused on the tower before them, trying pinpoint to where the princess would be located in. The last thing Amon mentioned was that she would be up the stairs, in the tallest room in the tallest tower.

"Well, I have a confession to make. Foxes don't really have layers, we wear our fear right out there on our sleeves."

"You don't even wear sleeves." Mako said, looking at her and smiling a cheeky grin while crossing his arms. Something about her being afraid of something so minor as lava was kind of amusing for him.

"You know what I mean!"

"It's okay if you're afraid of heights, Asami." Bolin said kindly.

"No, it's not the heights that's the issue. I'm just a little uncomfortable being on a rigidly bridge over a boiling lake of lava!" she stated, her voice rising for emphasis, only to have a lava geyser rise upwards that could literally burn the hairs of her tail is she were too close.

Mako only rolled his eyes, "Lucky for you, we don't have to use the bridge. We can just fly across."

"Oh, yeah that makes me feel so much better." Asami said sarcastically. After witnessing the lava geyser she didn't care how they would go over it, she just didn't want to. Suddenly, just as quickly as they came, her fears melted away when she felt Bolin's hand on her shoulder. She was met with his warm and caring gaze that just melted her heart.

"Hey, I'll be right here to catch you. Don't worry."

His green eyes sparkled like emeralds, and Asami knew he was seeing sincere. She blushed, which she was thankful the red lighting from the lava most likely hid it from his view. "Okay." she said. She allowed Bolin to swoop her up once more and the two brothers made their way across the lava filled lake. Asami gulped a bit, she could already feel the heat from down bellow right to the tip of her tail. She held Bolin's strong shoulders even tighter, which made him blush. Thankfully, the red lighting hid it from Asami.

"We're almost there." said Mako, briefly turning his head to the frightened fox faerie, "Just don't look down."

"Okay, don't look down. Don't look down." she repeated to herself, "Don't look down, don't look-AH!" the faerie screamed when she saw a geyser fatly rising upwards. Bolin quickly maneuvered the steaming lava rising, holing Asami as tightly as he could. A second geyser rose up and the two brothers, using the power of their wings, nimbly made their way pass them, avoiding being hit by the steaming lava. Finally, they landed safely onto the stone ground at the entrance to the abandoned dark castle. Asami hesitantly opened her eyes and sighed in relief once she realized they were out of harms way.

"Well, that wasn't so bad."

"Told you." Bolin winked before gently lowering her down once more. Another geyser rose up again, frightening Asami so much she instinctively clung onto Bolin for safety. Once it lowered down, Asami realized the position she was in and immediately released her friend, both blushing. This time, there wasn't enough red lighting to hide it.

Mako simply rolled his eyes. Leave to his brother to develop a crush on the pretty fox faerie. As nice as it was to think of Bolin to have finally found somebody they still had a job to do. "Come on, you two."

"Right." Asami said as she and Bolin followed Mako into the dark and grim castle, which was apparently crumbling at the seems. "So where is this man-eating pain in the neck anyway?"

"Inside, waiting for us to rescue her." Mako said with a chuckle, but Asami narrowed her eyebrows at him.

"I was talking about the snake, Mako."

As the group walked deeper and deeper into the castle, the spikes on Bolin's back as well as the hairs on Asami stood on end at the sight before them. All around the walls were scorch marks, the outlines of bodies of the men who tried to rescue the princess as well as the remands of their armor, limbs, weapons and skeletons. It was literally a graveyard for the unlucky souls foolish enough to come here. Was this princess really worth the trouble to begin with?

Asami's ears perked upwards at the sound of what she thought was the ominous hissing of a snake, followed by the sound of its body slithering across the stone cold floor. Bolin heard it as well, sharing his friend's fearful reaction. He spun his head all around, trying to find the source of the noise, only to accidentally trip over a shield, his feet getting caught in the armor and tripping over the skeleton remains of a knight. He was about to release a blood curling scream upon being face to face with the skeleton head, only to have his mouth covered by his older brother.

"Bolin! Two things. Shut. Up." then, Mako noticed the shinning armor and got an idea. Even though he was sure he was strong enough to handle any obstacle, it didn't hurt to be prepared. He had never faced a pyhtonaconda before, so this amor might come in handy.

"What are you doing?" Asami asked as Mako placed the armor on his upper torso, hiding his tail and wings with the outfit and placing a knight's helmet over his head.

"We don't know what this pyhonaconda is capable of." he replied before tossing one of the helmets at her, "Better safe than sorry. Now, suit up and see if you guys can find some stairs."

"Why stairs?" Bolin asked as he picked out his armor to put on, while Asami was still trying to get the helmet to fit. "I thought we were looking for the princess.

"The princess will be up the stairs in the highest room in the tallest tower, remember?"

"Oh, right, right. Okay, will do." Bolin gave his brother a salute, which made the slot of the helmet land over his eyes. Mako only rolled his eyes before sliding the metal of the helmet over his eyes which shielded his face, aside from his eyes.

Once the three faeries were suited up Mako walked to the left while Asami and Bolin walked to the right. The two friends kept their eyes peeled for any sign of stairs. Asami used her fox sight to see through the darkest places of the castle. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of glowing blue eyes watched them from behind the walls. Its long fork tongue dripping in drool.

Asami heard something fall from above her and looked down to see what it was. It appeared to be some kind of liquid. Upon closer inspection, she sniffed it. This was not just any liquid.

Mako walked over an area of the castle, which appeared to have belonged to a chamber of some sorts, but was now broken in pieces. He looked up and saw a set of towers, but only one stood out from among the rest. It was not only the tallest, but also had a bright light shinning from its window.

"Well, now we know where the princess is." he said, "But where's the-"

"SNAKE!"

Mako quickly turned his head around to see both his friends screaming and running in terror from the beast, which emerged from the shadows, its gigantic white body shinning with golden markings all around it. Unlike other snakes it had front legs and back legs. It most certainly was not like any pythonaconda Mako had ever seen. For one thing, they did not have glowing magical markings on their bodies. The creature opened its mouth, releasing what appeared to be blew colored fire, which most definitely had to be the work of magic. Asami and Bolin ran as fast as they could from the creature, which came charming at them, snapping its massive jaws ready to take a bite. The beast prepared to breath fire once more, and Mako quickly shoved both his friends aside before the flames could reach them.

The flame went right in between the groups. Mako rolled down onto the ground while Asami and Bolin ran off away from the creature. Bolin attempted to fly and grabbed Asami's hand, but the creature leaped forward, using its powerful front legs to slam the pair down and fall to the ground against the stone that surrounded the castle. The two groaned as they sat up straight, only to see the creature above them, ready to swallow them whole. The creature never got the chance when a breath of red and yellow flames came from behind, burning the side of the creature, who then roared in anger and pain.

Mako had unleashed his fire breath at the creature in an effort to save his friends, "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size!" he shouted tauntingly at the beast, holding his fists up, ready to fight. The giant snake breathed fire at Mako, who in return did the same. The two now attempting to overpower the other, but the snake appeared to be getting the upper hand. It was bigger and there for stronger with more fire power than even Mako. Mako slowly lost his energy and his fire gave out. He gasped for air and seeing the chance the snake prepared to eat him, but Mako rolled out in the nick of time, only to have the creature slap Mako away with its massive tail, sending him flying.

The dragon faerie screamed as the hit sent him directly to the roof of the tallest tower. The young lad crashed through the roof, landing hard on the floor with a groan. HIs vision was blurry for a moment before finally finding the strength in his legs to stand up. That fire breathing took a lot out of him. But the moment he stood up he felt a powerful force suddenly press him against the wall, his arm being held against his back.

"Who are you? What do you want?" a voice asked. Mako immediately recognized the voice belonging to a woman. With his face pressed against the wall, he did manage to get a glimpse of who had pinned him against his will.

She was a woman, most likely twenty one, with tan skin and dark brown hair. She had two strands of hair falling on the side of her face, soot short just at the neap of her neck while the rest of the hair in the back was long and styled into a braid. Her eyes were a captivating shade of blue, which shimmered like sapphires, brightening up the grim room. She wore what appeared to be a high collar shirt with no sleeves, exposing her toned arms which wore long bellow the shoulder fingerless gloves, the shirt had elegant design patterns on it and a pair of dark blue pants with long boots that began just bellow her knees, and a short shirt around her waist which was open in the front, flowing more like a cape only inches above her knees. She also wore a small headband with sublet patterns that made it similar to a tiara but was small enough to appear like a simple headband than a flashy crown.

"Ah! Are you Princess Korra?" he asked, feeling the pain of her pressing his body harder against the wall.

"I am. Who wants to know?"

"I came here to-ow!-rescue you!"

Upon hearing this, the princess gasped and released Mako, allowing him to breath and rearrange himself. "You…you are?"

"Yes. Though, I'm starting to regret that decision." he said as he stretched his arms a bit to make sure she didn't break them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just, it's been a long time since I've seen anybody else. My people skills are a little rusty. Plus, you never know when a guy really wants to rescue you or he just wants the reward."

"I can see your point." Mako said, taking yet another good look at the princess. In all honesty, she wasn't what he had expected. He expected to find a dainty princess in a full on dress, wearing a golden crown and be all happy and thankful about her rescue. At least, that's what he heard princesses being rescued were like, but this girl…she was most definitely not dainty or even that royal in appearance. Non the less, he got what he came here for, that's what was important. "Now let's go!" he said, grabbing her arm, ready to lead her out of here.

"Wait, hold on!" the princess ripped her arm out of his grip with ease. She was strong too.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to start monologging about how you thrived to find me and say all that mushy stuff like comparing my beauty to a summer's day or something?"

Mako arched an eyebrow, "What?"

"It's something all knights do when they rescue a princess, I don't know, I didn't make these rules."

"You want to recite Shakespeare or do you want to get out of here?"

"So far, you're off to a good start." the princess surprised Mako by taking his arm and opening the door herself, which was another thing Mako was not expecting.

"That thing wasn't locked?!" he asked in surprise, "If it wasn't locked then why were you-" Mako stopped on his tracks when Koarr abruptly stopped, making him stop as well, but not before colliding with her back. They heard the sound of the beast roaring down bellow the stairs.

"You didn't kill the snake?!"

"It's on my to-do list!"

"Are you insane?! If you didn't slay it now you're doomed!"

"What are you talking about?"

Korra groaned in frustration, "That pythonaconda isn't like the others. It's enchanted!"

"It's what?!"

"Enchanted. The real reason nobody has been able to slay it is because it can only be killed by the one destined to rescue me."

Mako could not believe what he was hearing, "Why would anybody do that?!"

"It was to make sure that the one who freed me would be my one true love and not just some random lucky chump. It won't let me leave unless you slay it, which I thought you already did!" the princess pinched her nose in frustration at the sound of another roar, "You're dead, you know that?"

"You don't really sugarcoat anything, do you?"

"I've been living in a tower since I was seven, what do you want?"

"HELP!" a scream was heard down bellow, startling the two.

"What was that?"

"My brother. Come on!" Mako grabbed Korra's arm and led her down the stairs. "Is there any other way to kill that thing?" he asked as they ran.

"No unless you're a wizard who can undo the spell."

"So, basically there's no other way except to kill it."

"Right."

"Exactly."

"No, I mean turn right!" Korra took the lead and dragged Mako with her arm, running over an old stone bridge. Mako was curious to how she knew this place so well. If she knew where to go and the door was unlocked then why did she remain in there? Granted, she wouldn't be able to leave unless that creature was defeated, which could only be done by her one true love. Mako was in serious trouble now. The only way to outsmart the creature.

As they ran, both Bolin and Asami ran towards them, with the serpent close behind. Mako and Korra instinctively grabbed the two and ducked from behind a broken pillar.

"Hey, you found the princess!" Bolin said and waved, "Hi, princess!"

"Who are you?"

"My brother." Mako replied.

Asami also waved, "Hi!"

"And who is she?"

"Stowaway." Mako replied, "It's getting to shut up is the real trick."

"Hurtful!" Asami exclaimed…right before the snake breathed it blue fire against the wall which came directly at the group. The ran as fast as they could from the beast. The creature was catching onto the group quicker than before.

"Is it just me or is that thing getting faster?" Bolin said in terror.

"It wants me!" Korra said, "I can never leave unless it's defeated!"

"Or outsmart it!" Mako said before making a turn into a corridor with the rest close behind.

"No, the only way is to kill it!" Korra stated, "Weren't you listening?"

"I was, but just trust me."

Korra didn't feel very reassured with that at all. Mako led the way back to where he and his friends had started. His eyes scanning the area, searching for something. He knew he saw it somewhere here. Finally, his eyes caught sight of it. An old chandelier hanging up on the ceiling by a chain, rolled up by a roll high above. Mako took Korra by the shoulders and placed her just a few inches away from where the chandelier was hanging from.

"You stand right here."

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"I have a plan. Just stand right there and get the snake's attention."

"Are you crazy?!"

"Just trust me, and quit complaining!"

Korra opened her mouth to protest once again but stopped when the creature came by, looking around until it spotted the princess. Korra gulped upon seeing the beast. She knew it wouldn't kill her, only place her back in the tower, which was something she really didn't want. Every time she amped up the guts to step out of her room, the creature would always get her back in there. The pythonaconda came speeding its way towards her. The princess's eyes darted to her side, her so called rescuer and his companions hid behind a pillar. Mako waited for just the right moment as he loosed the chains with his mighty strength. When the time was right, he released the chain that was hung on the wall, causing the chandelier to fall down and land around the beast's neck. The gigantic snake roared and looked down at the one who had done this to him.

Mako waved his arms around, getting the creature's attention. His plan was working. He had the beast follow him around the corridor and all around the pillars, the chain from the chandelier dragging behind it. It was so focused on chasing after Mako it didn't realize it was getting itself tangled around the pillars. He led the others out to where the bridge was, nearly escaping the creature's blue fire. He turned to Bolin and Asami, "You two, take the princess to the exit!"

The nodded and led Korra way while Mako pulled out sword from nearby. Seeing the line if chains all tied together, Mako placed the sword in between to keep the chains locked together. He ran and caught up with the others just as the snake came at them, unleashing its fire once more. The blue fire began to consume what little remained of the castle ruins and the group ran across the bridge, their focus directly on running away from the beast. The bridge began to give way and Mako and Bolin quickly grabbed the girls's hands, pulling them up to safety once they reached the rocky ledge on the other side. The snake came at them, ready to pounce and devour the group, but the beast stopped, the chandelier around its neck as well as the chains that had wrapped around the castle pillars prevented it from going any further.

The group breathed in an out once they were sure the danger had passed, only to be surprised when the markings on the creature's body began to sparkle and shine, emitting rays of light from its scales, tearing it to pieces as if it were made out of glass. The group shielded their eyes once the creature emitted a blinding light that caused the remains of the castle to crumble at the seems, falling down to the boiling lava down bellow, never to be seen again.

Once all was said and done, Korra slide down the hill, her heart racing so fast she thought it would leap right out of her chest. The creature was vanquished. Really vanquished. She would never see it again. She could not believe her own eyes, she pinched her arm numerous times just to make sure she wasn't dreaming again. Once she was certain she wasn't she smiled and leaped for joy.

"I can't believe it! You did it! You actually did it! You were amazing! You're-you're wonderful, you're…" she stopped hallway when she saw that the three companions were panting from exhaustion. Bolin was practically passed out on the ground, Asami rested against a rock and Mako placed his hands on his knees. Korra had to admit, he was not what she was expecting. At all.

"…you're a little unorthodox, I'll admit. But, you did it. You vanquished the pythonaconda!"

Mako inhaled deeply before responding, "Yeah well, sometimes brains beats brawn any day."

"Well, you've certainly proven your worth. I'm eternally grateful."

Bolin cleared his throat to get her attention. "Ahem! You know, we helped out too, you know."

"No you didn't." Mako stated.

"Hey, we found the snake for you to kill!" Asami said, "Besides, I made it very clear, I don't like snakes! A group of pea brained guards I can handle, but a giant snake, I know my limits, pal!"

Korra nonetheless smiled kindly at the two. She didn't want them to feel left out anyway. "Well, where would a brave knight be without his noble companions."

Both Bolin and Asami liked the sound of that. "Oh, I hope you heard that, she called us "noble companions". I could get used to this." said Bolin, smiling proudly.

"Well, now that that's all over, you can remove your helmet, good sir knight."

Mako's body became stiff upon her request. With all of the craziness happening he had nearly forgotten he was still wearing his fully body armor which hid his true nature. If she discovered he was a faerie she would freak out. He needed to get her to come with them unless he and Bolin will never get their home back.

"Uh…no."

"Why not?"

"I-I have helmet hair!"

"Please? I would like to see the face of my rescuer." Korra placed her hands behind her back, her big blue eyes sparkling as she looked up at him, which only made the young faerie even more nervous.

"Oh, no you wouldn't. Trust me."

The princess fiddled a bit with her hair while blushing, "But…how will you kiss me?"

"What?!" Mako's eyes widened in shock, nearly falling back on a rock before getting back his composure. He anxiously turned to his friends, "That wasn't in the job description!"

"Uh, maybe it's a perk?" Asami said.

"No, it's destiny. Wow, you guys really don't know your stories, do you?" Korra rolled her eyes upon seeing their clueless expressions and started explaining the whole deal to them, "A princess locked in a tower and beset by an enchanted beast is rescued by a brave knight and then they share…true love's first kiss. I know, it sounds corny and all but, that's how it is."

Asami couldn't help but snort in laughter at this, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, sister. You think Mako is your true love?"

"Well, he did slay the pythonaconda-surprisingly-and it could _only_ be slayed by my one true love so…yeah."

The three friends looked at one another in surprised before they all bursted into laughter. Asami's back was on the ground, her legs kicking while hugging her stomach out of laughter, while the two brothers leaned on one another for support due to their laughing. They laughed so hard it almost made them feel lightheaded.

"What's so funny?" Korra asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion upon seeing them laugh so hard about this.

Make took in deep breaths before responding, "Let's just say I'm not really your type."

"Of course you are, you wouldn't be alive if you weren't. Now, remove your helmet."

"Look, I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Dude, just take off the helmet."

"I'm not going to."

"Take it off!"

"No!"

" _NOW!_ "

"Okay, okay, easy." Mako reeled back, stepping a few feet away from the angry princess, who had some serious pipes is she could shout that loudly. He had already seen an example of her physical strength he didn't want to be her punching back again. "As you command, your highness."

With Bolin and Asami both watching anxiously, while also shaking their heads, begging him not to do so. Mako hesitated for a moment before finally removing his helmet, allowing for Korra to see his face.

The princess's eyes widened upon seeing him. He wasn't really bad to look at, in fact he was quite handsome with his brilliant amber eyes, strong features and spiky black hair that Korra found quite attractive. He was in fact more handsome than any prince she could have ever imagined. But sadly, she couldn't fully admire these features due to the scales, pointed ears and little spikes running from his neck all the way down to his back. Her heart sank when he smiled with uncertainty, no doubt awaiting her response.

"You're…you're a faerie?"

"Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming?" Mako asked, though it was more so a rhetorical question since he already knew the answer. Of course she wasn't expecting a faerie to save her, he may not be much of an avid fairytale reader but he knew that much.

"Well, not specifically but…oh, no." the princess practically his her face away, both hands on her forehead, trying to process, "No, this can't be happening. You're not supposed to be a faerie."

"Then you're really going to be disappointed about this." Bolin said once he and Asami removed their helmets, revealing their true nature to them as well.

Korra couldn't believe this. They were all faeries. Granted, she didn't have anything against these guys, but the fact that the one who vanquished the pythonaconda was a faerie himself…that was a big problem on her part.

"I can't believe this-this-this isn't how it was supposed to be!" Korra crossed her arms as she walked on over to a boulder.

"Look Princess, I was sent to rescue you by Lord Amon." Mako said as he continued to remove the rest of his armor, revealing his other dragon features, like his wings, tail and scaled on his arms, "He's the one who wants to marry you."

"That's not how it works! If he wanted to marry me so badly why didn't he come and rescue me himself?"

"Good question, you should ask him that when we get there."

"But I have to be rescued by my true love, not by some dragon faerie and his pals."

Bolin scoffed at this before crossing his arms and pouted, "Well, so much for noble companions."

Mako ran his fingers through his spiky hair. He didn't want to be here anymore than the princess wanted him to. "Princess, you're not making my job any easier."

"Well, I'm sorry but your job is not my problem." Korra sat down on the boulder, stubbornly refusing to move, "You can tell this Lord Amon guy if he really wants me to marry him then he should do the heavy lifting and rescue me himself. When he does, I'll be waiting right here."

"Are you serious?"

"I waited thirteen years in that tower I can wait twenty four hours."

But Mako would have non of that. He was a faerie dragon, which meant he didn't take orders from pampered princesses. No matter how big and blue their eyes were. "Hey, I not anybody's messenger boy, alright? I'm a delivery boy."

"You wouldn't dare."

Mako attempted to take the princess by force, only to have the princess beat him to the punch, grab his arm, twist it and then flip him over her body like a sack of potatoes. Bolin and Asami winced at the sound of Mako groaning in pain. He managed to get himself up, leaning against the boulder for support and shot the princess and angry glare.

"Look, wether you like it or not, I'm not leaving until you do. So, what's it gonna be?"

(~)


	5. Never judge a dragon by his scales

(~)

Korra kept her arms crossed the whole way. She had disappointingly agreed to go with Mako to Navalon. Mako wasn't too happy about the arrangement either, especially when she had refused to fly there instead, which would have made the journey far less exhausting by going on foot. Still, for the sake of not being flipped or punched again, Mako complied. Korra also allowed Mako to lead the way since he and his friends were the only ones who did know the way back, but she still walked neck in neck with Mako, not meeting his gaze while continuously wearing the annoyed look on her face.

"You know, we'd make it there a lot faster is you'd let us fly-"

"I don't like heights!" the princess interrupted the faerie halfway by shouting. Once again, Mako flinched and reeled back, briefly stopping before continuing. This princess was as hard as a rock, and had the fire of a dragon. He couldn't help but wonder how did a princess become like this? Was it the isolation of the tower that made her so upset? Was it that she was still deeply disappointed to have been rescued by a faerie of all things? He assumed it was the later.

"So, you were stuck in that tower for twenty years?" Bolin asked, trying to start a conversation with the princess, "That must have been like crazy boring!"

"Actually, it was thirteen years, but it felt like twenty."

"So what did you do in that time? Did you make crafts, or sing songs?"

"Yeah, basically anything that came to mind. You know, having you guys bust me out of that tower wasn't all bad." Korra said, before her eyes inconspicuously shifted to Mako for a moment, "Despite certain disappointments." she muttered under her breath. She didn't expect Mako to hear, but he did. As a result, he used his tail to whip the back of her legs, nearly making her fall. The princess regained her balance just as quickly as the faerie dragon boy walked on further ahead of her, much to her annoyance. "The sooner we get to Navalon the better."

"Yeah, you're gonna love it there, Princess. It's beautiful!"

"And what about this Lord Amon guy, what's he like?"

The group stopped by a stream, where Mako took a sip with his hands, feeling the cooling liquids slide down his throat. After that intense fire breathing to counter that of the pythonaconda he needed to hydrate himself. He wiped away the water from his mouth, sighing in relief upon having finally drank some water.

"Well, let me put it this way princess….You could do better."

"Mako!"

"What? I'm just being honest."

Asami only rolled her eyes before addressing to the princess, "I'm sure he's a real sweetheart once you get to know him, your highness."

Korra refused to allow Mako's snakiness get the better of her. She refused to allow him to get the better of her, period. The princess shrugged it off and placed her hands on her hips, acting casual. "Well whatever, so long as he can keep me out of that tower, I'm fine with it."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that when you see him tomorrow." Mako said as he got back up and continued on their way.

"Wait, tomorrow?!" Korra asked in shock. Her voice was shaking with fear and her cool demeanor from before had vanished. She spun around, looking up at the sky and the sun just about getting ready to set above the horizon. Absentmindedly, she allowed an "Oh, no." to escape her lips.

"What's wrong?" Mako asked, immediately catching wind of the tone of her voice.

"I-I didn't realize it was so late, we need to make camp." the princess quickly hurried ahead, her eyes scanning around the forest for the safest place to rest.

"Camp? But you just escaped!" Mako stated. He would think the princess would want to get to Navalon as soon as possible, not waste her time melting marshmellows around the campfire.

"Yes, and I found the whole ordeal very exhausting, I have to rest immediately."

"No, that'll take us longer. We keep moving." Mako said, more so an order than a mere suggestion.

"But, there's robbers in the woods! Not to mention wild animals and poisonous snakes!"

Upon hearing the "s" word, Asami stopped and yanked on Mako's tail, getting his attention, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, camp is starting to sound like a good idea!"

"Come on, a trio of faeries is way worse than anything we'll see in this forest."

"I need to find somewhere to camp, _NOW!_ " once again, Korra proved just how powerful her voice truly was, probably more so than even Mako's. Just like his yelling from before, birds scattered out of their trees and flew away in fear. Asami and Bolin both instinctively gripped Mako's arm, their eyes widened in shock and terror. Even Mako was taken aback by the princess's demanding order.

(~)

Mako grunted as he pushed a rock to the side, inspecting the opening. They had managed to find a cave with a large boulder beside it. The interior wasn't much, but it was big enough for the princess, and she did want to set up camp before the sun set, which was a tad odd but at this point the group found it best not to question her.

"Hey, over here!" Mako shouted at the princess, getting her attention and gesturing to the cave.

Bolin shook his head in disapproval while Asami slapped him on the arm, "Mako, we can do better than that! I don't think this is fit for a princess."

Korra quickly rushed on over, still looking a bit antsy, probably more so than before. "No, no, it's perfect! It just needs a little homey touch, is all."

"Homey touch? Like what?" Mako arched and eyebrow on confusion, only to blink moments latter when he and the others heard the sound of wood being ripped apart. Korra had torn off a piece of tree bark, big enough for the opening of the cave.

"A door!" holding the wood in front of her, she walked into the cave and shielded the entrance with the new wooden door. "Thanks a lot, see you all in the morning, good night."

Bolin knocked on the wood twice, "Sure you don't need anything? An extra blanket, a glass of water or a bedtime story?"

"I said _good night!_ "

And there it was again, her angry yelling that always made the group back away in an instant. Asami was the first to speak, "She seems nice." she said, though she knew she was lying. Mako groaned in annoyance as he went to get some wood for the campfire. This was going to be a very long trip.

(~)

Latter that night, the group of friends gathered around the campfire, sharing the meal Asami had recently captured. She found some chipmunks running around and Mako had them cooked in seconds. They all ate in complete silence, focusing more on how delicious the food was, but mainly because Asami and Bolin kept on looking back at the cave, its opening still closed up by the wooden door. They couldn't help but feel guilty about leaving the princess alone like that. She had not come out to eat either. They knew she wouldn't eat chipmunks, but still, they didn't feel right in just leaving her there.

They both looked up at Mako, who had just peeled the skin off of his chipmunk, devouring the meat with delight. He noticed the pairs of eyes looking at him and swallowed his meal before speaking. "What?" he asked. The two nodded their heads to the cave. Mako immediately caught on to what they were trying to tell him. "Oh come on, why me?"

"Well, you did save her." Asami said.

"Yeah, something we _both_ regret." he replied before returning to his meal. His sharp dragon teeth tearing off the meat of the creature.

"She hasn't said a word." said Bolin, "Maybe she's hungry."

"I doubt she'll eat chipmunk."

"I did find some berries though." said Asami, gesturing the leafs she had now filled with berries. She offered one to Mako, insisting he be the one to give them to her. She really wanted the two to get along…that, and she was personally too scared to aproach herself. Bolin was too.

Mako realized they would not leave him alone if he did not comply. With a grunt, he snatched the leafs filled with berries and even a small chipmunk and walked towards the cave. He placed the two on the ground before knocking gently.

"Princess?" he called out, speaking in the softest tone he could master. No reply. "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot but, if it's any consolation, I didn't want to come here any more than you want me here. Lord Amon said if I rescued you he would give me and my brother our home back." he sighed sadly. The last sentence would certainly leave a deeply personal wound. "I don't blame you for being disappointed. You're right, heroes are supposed to rescue the princess, not faeries. Don't worry, by tomorrow we'll both get what we want." he gently shoved the berries and chipmunk in front of the door. "I'm not sure if you eat meat, but here's some berries too in case your hungry. It was Asami and Bolin's idea." he frowned when he received no reply. "Okay then. See ya." he got up and prepared to leave, but not before hearing a voice coming from inside.

"Thank you."

Mako's body became stiff when he heard her say those two words. She sounded so sweet and caring. Maybe he had gotten through to her. If they were to go on this journey they should at least learn not to bite each other's heads off. He was already dealing with enough as it was, butting heads with a princess didn't have to be on his list too.

Just as Mako had left, the wooden door peeked open and a hand stuck out, quickly grabbing one of the two options in front of her. Once she took it, she closed the wooden door and sinked her teeth into the chipmunk.

Mako sat back with the others, resuming his meal. "See, that wasn't so bad." Bolin said with a smile, but Mako did not reply. After a moment of silence, Asami spoke up, asking a question.

"So, what are we going to do when we get the swamp back?"

Mako's ears perked up in awareness, "What?"

"You know, when the three of us are done bringing the princess to Navalon."

"We? Asami, there is no "three" of us. There is is me, Bolin and our swamp. And the first thing we're gonna do is built a ten foot wall around the place."

Bolin's jaw dropped in shock, his eyes narrowing, while Asami's fox ears lowered in sadness while placing a hand over her heart. Mako had really cut her deep just now.

"Bro, how can you say that?!" Bolin exclaimed in anger, which was a rare occurrence for him, "Look, I know things have been hard for us since mom and dad died but that's no excuse to treat others like dirt!"

"Did anybody cry for us when mom and dad died? No! When were you going to get it through your head Bolin, it's every faerie for themselves."

Bolin crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing at his older brother, "You know something, big bro? I don't think we really need a ten foot wall because you already have one around your heart. What's your problem anyway?"

"I don't have a problem, Bolin."

"Then why won't you let Asami be a part of our family?"

"Can we just drop it?"

"Why don't you want to talk about it?"

"Why do _you_ want to talk about it?"

"Why are you blocking?"

"I'm not blocking!"

"Oh, yes you are!"

"Bolin, I'm warning you!"

"Just tell me, who are you trying to keep out but me?"

" _Everyone!_ Okay?!" Mako got up on his feet, his eyes becoming slits and his wings rising upwards in reaction to his anger. Bolin remained unfazed.

"Now we're getting somewhere!"

"Oh, for the love of pete!" Mako face palmed himself before walking over to a ledge and sat there, gazing up at the full moon. Unbeknownst to them, Korra was listening in on their conversation, her blue eyes peeking through to watch them.

"What's your problem, Mako?" Asami finally got the courage to ask, "What do you have against the whole world?"

"I'm not the one with the problem, it's the _world_ that seems to have a problem with me! You saw how that princess reacted, that's how it always is! Ever since we were kids people are all, "AH! Run! The evil, terrifying Dragon ferries, they're gonna eat us alive!" We don't fit in with humans, we don't fit in with other faeries, we don't fit in anywhere!…" after lashing out like that, Mako let out a deep long sigh, his ears and wings lowering down, matching his mood. "They judge us before they even know us…that's why we're better off alone."

Korra's eyes shimmered underneath the shadow of the moonlight but closed the door before tears could fall out. Bolin and Asami looked at one another before sitting beside Mako. Bolin sighed before speaking, "I know you're just trying to protect me. And I was still pretty young back then to understand, but…I don't want us to be alone forever."

Mako looked at his brother, his eyes filled with regret. All he ever wanted was for his brother to be safe, but maybe he had been trying too hard to protect him that he wounded up trying to protect his head from getting hurt again and again. Asami placed a hand on Mako's forearm.

"You know Mako, when I first met you guys, I didn't think you were evil, terrifying dragon faeries."

"Yeah…I know."

For once in his life, Mako didn't try too hard to shield himself. He allowed his brother and Asami to be his company, even for just one night.

(~)

The next morning, Mako, Bolin and Asami were awoken by the unmistakable aroma of…scrambled eggs. Mako's nose twitched like a puppy dog's before he jolted upwards. He had not had scrambled eggs in a long time. To his surprise, he saw Princess Korra using the remaining fire from last night to cook some eggs, using a stick as a spatula and the rock as a plate. This girl was just full of surprises, wasn't she?

Bolin was drooling in his sleep before being roughly woken up by his brother. Asami woke up next, screeching her body like a cat until she smelled the food cooking.

"Morning." Korra greeted them happily as she placed their individual eggs into their respected rock plates.

"Oh, good morning, Princess!" Bolin said with a smile. He has always been a morning person. Asami's tongue stuck out upon seeing the freshly made eggs, steaming hot. Mako was still very surprised by this.

"What's all this about?" he asked, rather suspiciously. He already regretting sounding like that in case the princess would lash out at him once more.

"Well, I thought about what you said last night and, it made me realize I was being unfair to you. I wanted to make it up to you and say I'm sorry."

Mako blinked in surprise. No one had ever apologized to him before, and certainly nobody had ever made him and Bolin breakfast before. She didn't even have it, it wasn't her fault she was rescued by a faerie instead of her true love, and despite what happened to the pyhonaconda, Mako refused to believe it was him. After all, a human and a faerie? That was just too crazy to even think about.

Nonetheless, Mako accepted the peace offering, despite still being left in awe. "Uh…thanks."

"Well, eat up. We've got a big day ahead of us."

Mako took a bite of his egg and was surprised at how well she had cooked it. Not only was she a good cook, but Korra even appeared happier this morning as well.

(~)

After eating up the group made their way to Navalon on foot. Korra still hesitated on flying there, so Mako and the others complied. To pass the time, Asami began explaining to the group various road trip games. "Okay, so the rules are simple." she explained, "Every time you hear a bird call, the person standing next to you-Oh, Punch Buggy!" Asami punched Mako's arm, making him cry out in anger and pain.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"It's part of the game."

Bolin's eyes widened in realization, "Oooh, I get it! So, every time I hear a bird sing you give the person standing next to you-Punch Buggy!" Bolin punched Mako's arm, right in the same spot. "Ha! I got you, bro! I got you with that little blue bird over there. Fun right?"

"No! What kind of twisted game is that?!"

Asami only scoffed, walking with her hands on her hips, practically strutting as most foxes did. "You really need to get out more. That's why you have me to show you all the fun things to do on a road trip, speaking as a girl who's been on the road more than once. You may not know it, but you are a very lucky fae-"

"Punch Buggy!"

Asami suddenly lost all feeling in her arm right after Korra punched it with brute force. The princess gave herself a high five, "Ha! Robin bird at ten o'clock!"

The fox faerie felt like she had been hit by a boulder. She clenched her arm and fell to her knees, crying out in pain. "Mid Summer's Dream, that hurt!"

Seeing Asami get her just rewards made Mako laugh, "You're right, this is fun!"

"I know, you want to play again?" Korra asked the fox faerie, who finally stood up and held her arms in front of her body in surrender.

"No, no, no! That's okay, you win!" she rubbed her arm while Bolin gently led her away from the power powerful princess.

"Maybe we should move along to Eye Spy." Bolin suggested, "Or, I went on a picnic, or something that won't put somebody in a body cast."

"Oh, relax. She'll be fine." Korra assured, "I didn't hit her nearly hard enough to cause damage."

"Oh, appreciate the thought." Asami said sarcastically while still rubbing her arm and feeling the sting that came with it.

Both Korra and Mako laughed together, and the dragon faerie found himself slowly becoming more and more fascinated with this…unique princess. As they continued their way, Mako amped up the courage to ask a question. "Um, Princess, I gotta ask, where did you learn to throw punches like that?"

"Well, when someone lives alone they do everything they can to pass the time. And, even though I couldn't technically leave with the pythonaconda keeping he trapped in the tower, I did make it a past time to outrun it when I could. It's a great workout, really."

Mako cracked a smile. There really was something truly extraordinary about this princess. She was nothing like the princesses he had read about. If anything, she would most likely be against that stereotype judging by the way she was when they met. "Somehow, I can kind of believe that."

"I'll take that as a compliment, dragon boy." Korra replied, her voice oozing with confidence.

"No, what I meant was, you're not quite what I expected."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't judge someone before you get to know them." the princess gave the faerie a smile, added with a sly brow before walking along, her long braid swaying from side to side as she moved with such confidence and courage.

Bolin and Asami slid up beside Mako, their eyes wide in awe at what the princess had just told Mako. "Oooooooooohhhhhhh…..burn." they both said in unison.

Mako couldn't help but wonder how a woman like her ever managed to get herself locked away in a tower. She could clearly fend for herself, so why was she even there to begin with? The was definitely something strange about this girl, and Mako, even if he didn't admit it all the time, did have a curious side when it came to mysteries. And Princess Korra was most certain a mystery waiting to be solved in his eyes.

As it would appear, the group would have a very uneventful trip back to Navalon…for about five more seconds.

"You guys hear that?" Mako asked, his ears twitching around, tying to find the source of what he had just heard.

"I don't hear anything." said Korra, right before she felt something grab her waist and fly her off only to land on the bended trunk of a tree, shaped like an arch. In the moment it took her to blink, a man came swinging on a vine and snatched the princess up before she could properly react.

"Korra!" Mako cried out, not bothering to use the name 'princess' this time. The man was pale skinned with dark hair, shinny and perfectly mangle with a wavy bang on the side of his face. Korra angrily removed her arm from his grasp. "Hey! What's the big idea?!"

The man bowed before the princess, "Fear not, M'Lady. Your troubles are over."

"Excuse me?" Korra arched an eyebrow while placing a hand on her hip.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tahno, leader of the Wolf Bat clan. Perhaps you've heard of me." he said, giving the princess a sly brow and flirtatious smile. But the princess had no reaction and instead shot him a deadpan glare.

"Nope. Not a thing."

"Hey!" Mako called out from down bellow, "Buddy, that's my princess, go find your own!" for a moment, Mako wondered why he used the word 'my' instead of 'our' since they were traveling in a group. He hoped it wouldn't imply anything to the others.

"Excuse me, lizard boy, but I'm a little busy here!" Tahno glared at the faeries before turning back to the princess, taking her hand, "Don't worry, Princess. That beast won't harm you ever again, for I have rescued from his wicked clutches." he began kissing Korra's hand, starting from the back of her hands before continuing on her wrist, followed by her arm. Korra shuddered in disgust and slapped the guy straight in the face with her free hand. But, to Korra's shock and horror, Tahno did not appear too bothered by the slap, which made his pale cheek turn red. "Oh, feisty. I like that."

Mako rolled his eyes, "Okay, I've had enough of this." he spread open his wings and flew upwards to get Korra way from this weirdo. The princess herself reached out her hand for Mako to take, wanting to get as far away from Tahno as well. But, the dragon faerie released an angry roar when Tahno pulled out a knife, cutting part of Mako's wing, wounding him and causing him to tumble down and fall. With an injured wing, Mako couldn't fly.

"Mako!" Korra's eyes widened at the sight of Mako's wing bleeding. This Tahno guy was tougher than she gave him credit for. The knife wheedler placed his fingers into his mouth, whistling.

Bolin and Asami rushed to Mako's side when the bushes began to rustle. One by one, a group of men came out, each one wielding his own weapon; crossbows, knives, swords, spears and bolas. This was the Wolf Bat clan, a team of skilled hunters who were famous for killing ferocious beasts and rescuing damsels in distress. Tahno winked at Korra before taking a vine and swinging down to the ground.

"Must me my lucky day." he said pointing his knife at the two remaining faeries, "Three faeries _and_ a princess in one day." he laughed while flipping his bang to the side as Bolin and Asami took their stance. Bolin's eyes became slits and his wings risen upwards, while Asami got on all fours, snarling at the man. Mako managed to get himself to stand up, despite his injured wing, and readied to send a blast of fire directly at him.

"Come on little faeries." Tahno taunted, "Give me your best sho-" before he could complete his sentence, Korra came swinging down on a vine, kicking Tahno's head in the process, sending him flying and hitting his head against a rock, knocking him out cold.

The princess leaped through the air before landing perfectly on her feet, starling the faeries. "What?" she asked, noticing their surprised reactions, "He was asking for it."

"Why you little!" one of the Wolf Bats pulled out an arrow and shot it with his crossbow directly at Korra, but the princess easily dodged the attack, letting the arrow hit a tree instead, nearly missing Asami and Bolin's heads. Korra did a summersault towards the one who shot the arrow, kicked the crossbow off of his hands and began punching the man's face. Two punched square on the jaw and he was down. More of the men came at her, but the princess remained unfazed.

"So, who's next?" she said confidently.

"Just let us take the faeries, Princess." one of the men said, wielding his spear, "We don't want to fight you."

"Why? Afraid to get your butts kicked?" she pounded her fists together, still smiling cockily.

"Just who did you think you are?"

"Why don't you come and find out." judging by the look on her face, Korra knew she was going to enjoy this…a lot.

Three of the men came at her, but Korra leaped forward, flying into the air before landing on one of the men's faces, knocking him down in the process. One of the men came at her with his spear, but Korra quickly spun around, grabbed hold of the spear and used it to spin the man still grabbing it around before tossing him over a tree, the spear now in her hand. Using her new weapon, she charged at the three men coming at her, for which she used the spear to knock them down on their feet. While punching and kicking two more men, a third one came up from behind her, only to be knocked down by Asami, who came charging on all fours, snarling at the men before snapping her teeth at one of them and lunging froward, scratching their faces with her claws. Her latest victim cried before running off like a whimpering child.

Two more men came at the girls, but they did not get the chance to attack when Bolin took both of their heads and knocked them against the other, making them pass out. Before long, each and every one of the Wolf bats had been defeated. Many of them had ran away in terror, while others laid on the ground, either unconscious or groaning in pain.

Korra gasped when she heard Tahno coming to, shaking his head and glaring at the princess. She had humiliated him and drove his men away, and for that she would pay. He rose up his knife, ready to strike until he felt his rear end suddenly feel unnaturally warm, followed by the scent of smoke and burning flesh. Mako had breathed fire at Tahno, setting his hiney ablaze. Tahno began screaming and crying like a little girl before running off into the woods, leaving Korra and the others to laugh at his expense.

"He's gonna be feeling that in the morning." said Bolin with a chuckle.

The laugher died down once Korra caught sight of Mako's still wounded wing. The red colored vat-like wing hung heavily against his back, making it difficult for him to stand up straight. Both Korra and Bolin rushed over and wrapped his arm around their shoulders, working together to keep him steady.

"You okay, bro?"

"Yeah, it's just my wing." Mako replied, trying his best to hide the pain in his voice. "It could have been worse, really."

"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry!" Korra said, feeling absolutely terrible about what happened to Mako. "We have to find a river."

Asami's nose caught whiff of something, "Follow me." she said before getting on all fours and running ahead with the others close behind.

(~)

Before long, the group found a stream where Bolin and Korra helped Mako to sit beside. "Hang in there, bro. You're gonna be okay." Bolin said, slowly growing more and more nervous about the situation, while his brother remained calm.

"Bolin, it's gonna be okay."

"You can't do this to me Mako, I'm too young for you to die!"

"Bolin! Calm down!" Korra said to the frightened younger brother, "Now, both you and Asami go into the woods and find me some calendula."

"Right!…what is that?"

"It's a brightly orange colored flower." Korra explained, "And see if you can find some Juniper leaves and berries and tree bark."

"Is now really the time to set up a picnic?" Mako asked, but Korra ignored him.

"I know where we can find those flowers." Asami said, taking the lead, "Come on, Bolin."

"Right, on it. Don't die Mako, and if you see a long tunnel, stay away from the light!"

" _Bolin!_ " both Korra and Mako exclaimed in unison at the green dragon faerie, who gave them a thumbs up before following Asami to retrieve the essentials Korra has asked for. The princess began ripping apart the dress-like cape around her waist and dipping the fabric into the water. Gently, she placed it on Mako's wound, wiping away the blood. "Hold still. This might sting a bit." she said. Mako winced a bit at the cold sensation against his wound.

"Ow!"

"I told you."

"Man, that's cold!"

"Good. It'll clean the wound."

Mako winced once more, this time louder when Korra started applying pressure against the wing. "Ow! What are you doing?!" he quickly pulled his wing back.

"I'm sorry, it's the only way to slow the bleeding."

"Not so hard then!"

"Okay, okay! Give me your wing." she reached out to touch it but Mako retaliated. "Don't be a baby. Come on, I promise to be more gentle this time." she awaited for hims to comply, and once he did she applied the pressure, but far more gently this time. The two were silent for a while as Korra attended to his cut, admiring how soft and beautiful his scales were. She had never been this close to a dragon's wing before. She was really have a hard time seeing what people found so terming about creatures like Mako. If anything, the way his scales were perfectly placed over the other made it seem like a work of art. She started to chuckle at the memory of Tahno getting his pants set on fire.

"What's so funny?" Mako asked, hearing her laugh.

"That was pretty impressive back there. Burning that guy's rear like that."

"Well he deserved it. But what about you? I mean, what was that all about?"

"What?"

"The way you took out like ten guys on your own, that was amazing!" his comment made Korra blush, "Where did you learn that?"

"Well, when I was in that tower I had a lot of books to pass the time. I had literally every book on every subject, especially first aid. You wouldn't believe the cuts and scrapes I got over the years."

Mako's eyes slightly widened in surprise upon hearing this. "Why would you get cuts while living in a tower?"

Korra's beautiful blue eyes looked down in sadness as she continued cleaning Mako's cut wing. "Let's just say, when you live alone you do just about anything to keep your sanity."

Mako's ears slowly began to fall. He had no idea this princess had suffered through so much while living in that tower. But even so, it was more than what he had when he was young. "Well, it must have been nice to at least have a bed, a roof and a decent place to sleep."

"Yeah, but what would be the point if you had nobody around to keep you company?"

"Sometimes it's better to be alone." Mako said, his voice slightly dropping, "That way no one can hurt you."

"Where you hurt?" Korra asked, though in a way she kind of already knew the answer, having heard him last night.

Mako sighed sadly before speaking, "Everywhere I go everyone always seems to think of me as a monster. But, I shouldn't really blame them. I mean, look at me."

Korra slowly stopped applying pressure on his wing and looked directly into his eyes. "I am." she replied in a calm voice. She was indeed looking at him…and she wasn't running, or screaming or threatening to kill him. She was smiling. Smiling the most beautiful smile Mako had ever seen. The princess shyly placed a strand of hair behind her ear, "You're very lucky."

"Why?"

"You have two wonderful friends who like you for you. I never had any friends growing up. So, being alone isn't as glamourous as some may think. Take it from someone who knows."

For a moment, it felt as if the rest of the world had disappeared. Korra and Mako sat there, gazing into each other's eyes. Mako admired the way Korra's eyes sparkled like sapphires while Korra was mesmerized by Mako's brilliant amber eyes that seemed to glow along with the sunlight. Their faces blushed with red as their faces were very few inches away from one another.

"Ahem!"

The two broke from their trance when Bolin and Asami arrived with the flowers, leaves and berries Korra has requested. Both looked at the two with matching smirks and raised suspicious eyebrows. Both realized the position they were in and Korra scooted a few feet away from Mako and Mako scooted a few feet away as well. Both of their faces burning hot.

"Nothing happened!" Mako stated quickly, his ears lowering in a shy manner, "We were just, uh…"

"Look, if you wanted to be alone all you had to do was ask." Asami said with a smirk as she hands Korra the flowers and berries. The princess blushed.

"What? Oh come on, that's the last thing on my mind!" Mako protested, but there was no hiding the blush on his face.

Korra simply shook it off and began working on the things Bolin and Asami had given her. She used the piece of tree bark as a plate and began mashing the petals of the calendula, juice of the jupiter berries and leaves together, mixed with a bit of the cold water. Once it was all mixed together, Korra ripped yet another part of her skirt, rubbing the mixed petals, berry juices and leaves onto it and wrapped it around Mako's injured wing.

"There. That should help stop the infection." she said, "Though, try not to fly for a while, okay?"

Mako managed to stand up and stretched his wing slightly. "Wow. That feel great. You're a miracle worker, Korra."

The princess giggled and blushed at him compliment, which made Mako blush as well. Both Bolin and Asami both looked at the two suspiciously. If they didn't know any better, they could already smell the pheromones in the air.

(~)


	6. A tale as old as time

(~)

The group continued their way back to Navalon. Every now and again Korra would inspect Mako's wing to see if it was healing alright. It was hard for the boys to make the trip while walking the rest of the way, but it most certainly gave the group a chance to spend more time together.

At one point, the team made it to a rapid river, which would be difficult for them to cross. Bolin at first believed he could just fly them over one by one, until Mako suggested an easier way. He gave his brother the idea to bend down a tree and using it as a bridge. Bolin held the tip of the tree down on the other side, allowing the others to cross.

Mako offered Korra his hand and assisted her up the wooden tree bridge. "After you, Princess." he said.

Korra smiled as she took his hand and stepped over the tree, "What a gentleman. Thanks." she walked over the bridge, with all the grace and confidence of a princess. Mako smirked as he took walked over the bridge, not noticing Asami was about to step on it first. The fox faerie was a bit offended when he offered to assist Korra instead of her, but noticing the way he was smiling she immediately let it slide. It was pretty cute the way he acted like a nobleman for her just now.

After that, the group made it to a field of flowers. Bolin began sneezing due to the pollen. Korra immediately spotted a spider web on a tree, and a poor little butterfly trapped on it and about to be eaten by the spider itself. She rushed forward and gently removed the butterfly from the web, allowing it to fly free.

Mako watched the scene in awe. Not only was Korra strong and smart, but she was undoubtedly kind as well. She had displayed her kindness previously when she made them breakfast, but seeing her take the time to save a simple little butterfly was pretty amazing in Mako's eyes. He would have allowed the spider to eat the beautiful infect since it didn't concern him or his brother. This girl had been trapped in a tower almost her entire life, and she still took time to help others less lucky than her. It tugged on Mako's heart strings.

The two even engaged in entertaining conversations with one another. Mako would tell Korra stories about him and his brother, the crazy antics they would get themselves into and all the people they scared. Mako even mentioned one hunter wet his pants. To his surprise, Korra was laughing along with him. She never knew Mako could be so funny, and Mako never would have guessed somebody would find the various reactions of the frightened humans hilarious. She even mentioned times she would trick the pythonaconda whenever she was too bored. She'd throw stones on the wall or use the shiny surface of one of the knight's shields to make a bright dot on the ground and see the snake go after it like a cat, believing it was an intruder.

Korra even demonstrated her playful side when she ran over to a pile of leafs and began kicking them all over the place, even directly at Mako. Mako was never one to participate in these childish antics and he was surprised to see Korra do them as well. His eyes darted from side to side. The only other ones there were Asami and Bolin, and they had decided to take shade underneath a tree. Mako figured, what could hurt?

Korra laughed as she watched Mako used his talon feet to kick the leafs, making a large numb roof them fly upwards and fall gracefully around them. Korra spun around happily around the leafs, taking in every moment of her new freedom. Mako admired her beauty, her spirit, everything about her was truly amazing. She was still pretty fiery, but being a dragon he found that aspect…rather attractive.

The whole time the two were laughing and having fun, Bolin and Asami observed from afar. Bolin had never seen his brother behave like this before. It was strange how this human princess could make his stoic and close-hearted older brother open up for the very first time. It made sense in a way, Korra was just as strong-willed and fearless as his brother was, as well as pretty opinionated, but what made them different was that Korra was more than willing to open herself up and try new things, no doubt from her being locked up for so long, while Mako would have preferred to keep his distance.

It was funny, Mako had the freedom to go anywhere he wanted yet he choose to keep himself chained down, while Korra had no choice in the matter but would have given anything to be as free as she was now.

They were opposites yet equals in such an odd and yet beautiful way. And Bolin specially couldn't believe it too a _human_ of all things to have such an effect on his brother.

(~)

Korra and Mako laughed as they made it out of the forest, both of their faces beaming and their eyes looking at nothing but each other. Their laughter slowly died down but their smiles and gazes did not falter.

"We're here."

"What?" the two broke from their gazes when they heard Bolin call out. The green dragon faerie pointed directly forward at the kingdom only a few miles away.

"Over there. That's Navalon."

The smiles on Korra and Mako's faces only just now had faltered as the princess gazed at the kingdom before her. It wasn't too far away now and they would make it by nightfall. But, suddenly, her heart just felt heavy.

Mako was mentally slapping himself right now. How could he had not known they were getting closer? If anything, their very destination was slowly fading from his memory halfway through the trip.

"That's Navalon?" Korra asked, sounding rather surprised and even a bit disappointed, "Wow. I had no idea we were so close."

"No, me neither." Mako said, scratching the back of his neck. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. Not only was he bringing the princess Navalon, but he was delivering a bride for a man who promised his home back. Suddenly, loosing the swamp wasn't as worse as saying goodbye to his new friend. Still, he sucked it up and dealt with it. Just like he always did.

"I...I guess we better get going."

"Sure." Korra replied, her voice sounding not at all excited about going. She took only one steep before stoping herself completely, "Wait, Mako!" he quickly spun around, eyes widening at her sudden outburst. "I, um, I'm…" the princess stumbled with her words, her eyes darting around as if trying to come up with something. "I'm worried about your wing!"

"What?"

"I-I want to make sure it's healed okay. I wouldn't fell right with myself if I just left you-I mean-left you _without_ properly checking it out first. I mean, what if you tried to fly and you wound up flat on your face?" Korra's face became red while fiddling with her long braid over her shoulder.

"You know, now that you mention it, it has been stinging a little bit-ow-see?" he demonstrated his wing with the bandage on it, though his expression didn't give any indication that his wing was in any pain. If anything, Mako didn't appear hurt at all throughout the entire trip.

"What are you talking about?" Bolin asked, "You look perfectly fine-Ow!" the green dragon faerie got an elbow to the gut by Asami, making him shut up.

"You know, Korra's right. You don't look so good Mako. Maybe she should inspect that wing of yours."

"Then it's settled." Korra said, "I'll set up camp."

"I'll get the firewood." Mako said and the two went off to do just that.

Bolin managed to get the oxygen back in his system and looked at both his brother and the princess. His eyes then widened in realization.

"Oooooohhhh. Now I get."

(~)

The team managed to find an abandoned farmhouse for them to spend the night. Mako had caught several rat-like creatures and cooked them rotisserie style before the campfire. He was amazed that Korra actually had an appetite for meat, almost equal to that of an actual faerie. The princess's eyes widened in awe as she chewed on the meaty creature.

"Wow. This is really good! What is it?"

"Weedrat." Mako replied, somewhat expecting her to react negatively to the fact that she was eating rat, but she was perfectly fine and continued eating.

"Tastes a lot like chicken." she said after swallowing the bit of food she was already chewing. "You know I never ate anything like this back in that tower."

Upon mentioning the tower, Mako's shoulders fell. All this time he wondered how she managed to survive trapped within those walls. The place wasn't exactly a luxurious private mansion so how she managed to maintain her sanity as well as her spirit was still a mystery to him.

"Korra, can I…can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why were you really in that tower?" he asked, earning a response from the princess who slowly stopped eating and lowered her food down. "I've seen you in action, you don't strike me as the type to let herself be kept in one place for so long."

For a moment, Mako was regretting asking that question. Still, the princess replied. "I…it's complicated. But, to be fair, I wasn't forced to live there. I partly accepted it. It's, this whole royalty, blood-line mumbo jumbo, my parents…" she trailed off. This was the first time she had ever mentioned anything about her parents to Mako. Granted, he never mentioned anything about his either.

"You never mentioned your parents." he said out loud.

Korra turned to look at him, her mouth forming into a half smile. "Tell you what, you tell me about yours and I'll tell you about mine."

That seemed fair enough. It was only a matter of time until the subject came up, so might as well get it over with. "Well…they were dragon faeries, just like me. We lived in a cave. A wide cave filled with all kinds of jewels that just shimmered in the light." the faerie smiled at the memory of him and his brother playing with the stones within the cave walls. However, his smile shifted into a frown as the happy memory began to take a dark turn.

"One day, mom and dad went hunting…dad came back with an arrow on his wing. It didn't take long for hunters to find us. Mom and dad made me and Bolin hide, but I peeked over and…I never saw them again."

Both Korra and Mako were silent. The princess's heart broke for the poor dragon faerie. To think, he witnessed his own parents get killed right before his eyes. Suddenly, her being trapped in a tower for thirteen years didn't sound so bad. Mako placed a hand over his eyes, as if trying to keep Korra from seeing the possibility of tears coming from his eyes.

"We never did anything to those people and they still treated us like monsters. Ever since, me and Bolin have been on our own. No other faeries would take us in because they were scared too." he removed his hand, tracing it through his hair. HIs eyes appeared puffy. It took every bit of his willpower not to cry in front of the princess. "I learned the hard way that, when your a dragon, you can't trust anyone else but your own kind." he felt Korra's hand above his own, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"I'm so sorry. It must have been so hard."

A single tear rolled down from her eyes, which caught Mako by surprise. Never had a human ever showed him any sympathy, or reflected what he was feeling at that very moment. He didn't know how it happened, but he reached out and wiped the tear away with his thumb. His hand brushing off the side of her face, feeling her soft skin. Her cheeks turned red and Mako quickly retaliated. He cleared his throat before speaking, "So, I told you about my parents, now you tell me about yours."

"There's not much to tell." Korra said, adjusting herself on the stone she sat on, "They wanted me to have…everything a princess could ask for. Even a fairytale romance. They hoped I would meet somebody who loved me, and I mean really love me not just say they do and really be more in love with my crown or…anything else for that matter. That's why they asked a wizard to enchant the pythonaconda, so that the _only_ one who rescued me would be my one true love."

"Well, that's…kind of extreme, don't you think?"

"Royal life is complicated. For one thing, we don't eat roasted squirrel and weedrat for dinner." she said with a light chuckle. Her eyes shifted from the weedrat to the castle in front of her. It was so close she could almost reach out and touch it. She wished she were farther away. "Guess I'll be dinning differently tomorrow night."

Mako realized she didn't sound too excited about going to the castle. In all honesty, he wasn't to happy about it either. Normally when it came to humans Mako would do everything in his power to avoid them, but Korra…he didn't want to avoid her. He wanted to see her again. The thought of never seeing her again brought great sorrow to his heart.

"Maybe…maybe you can visit me in the swamp sometime." he said, getting her attention. Her big blue eyes shimmering. "I'll make all kinds of stuff for you, bluebird honey dumplings, orated chipmunk, you name it."

Korra shyly looked down before smiling back at him, "I'd like that."

Meanwhile, as the two ate their meal, Bolin and Asami hid behind a rock, observing the two. "Bolin, move your wing, I can't see."

"Quiet, I'm trying to hear."

The two sat in silence for a brief moment before Mako spoke up, "Um…Korra?"

"Yes, Mako?"

Asami's tail started to wag happily, "Oh, my gosh! He's gonna tell her!" she said excitedly, her big green eyes increasing in size with awe while Mako struggled to find the right words to say.

"I, um…"

"Ooh, I can't take this!" Bolin said, his tail shifting from side to side with his two fists clenched together in anticipation.

"I was wondering…"

"Okay!"

"I was wondering…are you…?"

"Spit it out!"

Korra waited patiently for what Mako wanted to say. But, at the last minute, he retaliated and simply asked, "Are you gonna eat that?"

Bolin's jaw dropped in disappointment and Asami's eyes became slits while her claws came out and was practically claying onto the rock. "Seriously?!"

"Is that really what you were gonna ask?" Korra said with a knowing grin and a raised eyebrow. She could clearly tell this wasn't what Mako really wanted to ask her.

Upon hearing this, Asami's ears perked up and her excitement returned. "I like this girl!"

"Well, no. Not really." Mako confessed. His heart beating fast against his chest he feared Korra might hear it.

"Then, what is it?" Korra asked, her blue eyes making him all the more nervous.

"Um…well…it's, uh…your eyes."

"What about my eyes?"

"They're more beautiful than the sunset."

The princess smiled at the compliment. No one had ever said anything like that to her before and Mako never knew he would ever say anything so romantic in his life. Asami and Bolin watched with anticipation as the two gazed deeply into each others eyes. Before they knew it, their faces began drawing closer and closer together. Slowly, their eyes began to close and could practically feel the others breath as their lips closed in. But, at the last moment Korra's eyes slowly fluttered open as reality hit her.

"Wait, sunset?!" the princess turned her head, starling Mako, and she quickly got up. "Oh no! I-I mean, it's late! It's very late, I should, you know I should go inside."

"What?"

Korra made her way to the abandoned farm house, only to be stopped by Bolin, who eyed her suspiciously. "Wait a minute I see what's going on here…you're afraid of the dark, aren't you?"

"Yes! Yes, that's it, I'm terrified! If there is anything I'm more afraid of it's definitely the dark. You know what, I better go inside."

"Oh don't worry, princess. The dark's nothing to afraid of."

Mako go up, "Wait, Korra-"

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Goodnight."

"But I-" Mako stopped himself before he could say anything else. The princess was in a clear hurry to get inside and he didn't want to offend her in any way. "Good night." he said. Korra smiled at him once more before getting inside the farm house, closing the door in front of him. He had no idea what just happened. One moment, they were talking and about to…well…and then she just goes up and leaves. Was it something he said? Did his breath smell? Was he being too forward? He could have sworn she was the first to lean in, or was it the other way around. Why was he suddenly thinking this? She was getting married to another man the next day, why was he even considering the possibility of such a crazy idea. He sighed, shaking the thoughts away and turned to the fox faerie, who stood in front of him with her arms crossed and pouting.

"Asami, can you make sure the fire doesn't die out?"

"You're a dragon. Do it yourself. And BTW, that's not the _only_ fire that's dying around here."

Mako rose an eyebrow. "What's your problem?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"Notice what?"

"The nervous laughs, the big dopy grins." Asami waited for a response from the dragon faerie, but when she got non she face palmed herself, "Er, you're seriously gonna make me say it?"

"Yes! Because I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"I'm talking about you and Korra, you idiot! I'm a fox and I've got instincts, but even I don't need those to know you two are obviously falling for each other."

Mako was hoping she hadn't really caught on to what he was thinking, but she did. Much to his dismay. It was hard enough he was even thinking these thoughts he didn't want Asami or Bolin to bring it up either. "What? No! You're talking crazy, I-I'm just bringing her back to Navalon, that's it!"

"Come on bro, wake up and smell the pheromones!" Bolin said, looking at his brother with sympathy, "Just go in there and tell her how you feel."

Mako's body froze in place. Talking about his feelings was something he rarely did, and to say them to Korra. Then again, he did just open up to her about his parents and was so close to crying. She actually cared about his feelings and he cared about hers. But, to tell her he had stronger feelings for her than he would even want to admit? That was not only crazy, but dangerous. Clenching his fists, Mako turned to face his brother.

"There's nothing to tell! Besides, even if I did…well, you know. And I'm not saying I do, because I don't! She's a princess and I'm…"

"A faerie?"

Mako's ears dropped sadly, "Yeah…a faerie."

"But, you were the only one who defeated the pythonaconda." Asami pointed out.

"So?"

"So, if that isn't a sign you're meant to be together then what is?"

"She's marrying someone else tomorrow!"

"Did she say she wanted to marry Amon?" Asami asked, making Mako silent for a moment, no doubt questioning the same thing in his mind, "Well, while you figure that out…" the fox faerie turn around and began walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"To get some more wood before your fire dies."

(~)


	7. Secrets and farewells

(~)

That night, Mako just couldn't sleep. Too many thought were swarming around his head. He got up in the middle of the night to take a walk in hopes of figuring something out. Asami and Bolin slept soundly in the soft grass until Asami heard something coming from the farmhouse. It sounded like claws walking on a wooden floor. Immediately she jolted up, her ears moving in every direction. Her eyes began to glow and she used he fox vision to see if the princess was alright. She looked at the windows and caught sight of something large moving inside. That did not look like Korra at all. Immediately she shook Bolin awake.

"Wha-what did I miss?"

"Bolin, I saw something."

"What?"

"In the farm house."

Bolin immediately got up and approached the farmhouse. He knocked on the door, "Princess?" he called out but received no reply. He knocked once more, "Princess Korra." but when he received no reply again he took the initiative and opened the door. "You sure you saw something?"

"Positive.

Bolin's ears moved, trying to see if he could hear what it was Asami was talking about. The barn itself was an old, dusty and somewhat messy old place with broken wood, old abandoned furniture and barrels of water that no doubt were filled up after it rained, considering the very poorly constructed roof that had numerous holes above it.

The two walked slowly inside the farmhouse, their backs towards one another for precaution incase whatever Asami saw would attack them. They sniffed the air, catching whiff of something that did not smell human at all.

"You smell that?" Asami asked.

"Yeah. Princess, where are you? It's pretty spooky in here."

They heard the sound of wood creaking and the sound of claws once more. The creature they were after hid in the shadows above the poorly constructed stairs of the farmhouse. The floor soon gave way and both the stairs and creature came falling down, collapsing and causing the dust all around to rise up. Asami and Bolin coughed before catching a glimpse of the creature. The silhouette appeared as big as Asami herself with what appeared to be large wings coming from its back. Bolin immediately opened his mouth to scream before being covered by Asami's hand. She caught whiff of something else, something…familiar.

Once the dust cleared up, which in turn made the mysterious strange caught as well while fanning the dust away with her free hand. The creature had arms and legs just like them only instead of feet she had bird-like talons and her hair was loose, falling elegantly down her back like a waterfall, while a pair of feathered tan wings came from her back, the tip of the feathers dipped with aquamarine/blue colors and a pair of antlers stuck out from her head, but in the most elegant way making them appear almost like a crown, and a pair of pony-like ears rested on her head, and finally a long elegant reptilian tail with a cuff of hair at the tip moved elegantly behind her. A pair of familiar blue eyes caught the duo's attention. They knew those eyes and they knew this creature. Asami slowly lowered her hand from Bolin's mouth, both of their eye widening in shock.

"Korra?!"

The princess smiled nervously while waving at them innocently, "Hey guys."

Asami's jaw was practically to the floor. "Wha…what happened to you?"

"Yeah, you look…" Bolin tried to find the right word to describe what he was seeing, "different."

"I'm a freak, alright!" the princess said, her voice somewhat cracking as if she would cry.

"You're a faerie!" Asami concluded, still in shock herself. "So this is why you hide away every time the sun sets!" she said with a snap of her fingers, "It finally makes sense!" but upon seeing the princess's distraught face Asami's ears lowered in sadness, "Right, not the time. Sorry."

"How did this happen?" Bolin asked, "How did you turn into a…a…bird dragon…lion…dear…I'm sorry, what kind of faerie are you, exactly?"

"The cursed kind." Korra replied, crossing her arms and turning her back to them.

"Never heard of those."

Korra looked down at her reflection in the still waters of the barrel. "By night one way. By day another. This shall be the norm. Until you find true love's first kiss. Then, take love's true form."

"That's beautiful, I didn't know you wrote poetry."

"It's a spell! I've had it since I was seven."

"A spell?"

"Before my parents got married, my dad used to be in a relationship with a witch. Needless to say, she didn't take the breakup so well. As punishment, she turned me into the one thing humans would resent the most."

"Well, that's insulting." Asami said, crossing her arms while pouting bitterly.

"At first, I was supposed to look like this all the time, but my dad managed to convince the witch to only lessen the curse and only true love's kiss can turn me back to normal. At first, I was so sure my parents and I could break the spell. But…" her gaze fell as she recalled the memory, "One night, I was stubborn enough to go outside one night. I heard a cat stuck in a tree and rushed to help. Some folks saw me and chased me. I'll never forget the fear and anger in their eyes." Korra covered her eyes as tears rolled down from them. "Ever since, I agreed to live in that tower until the day my true love would rescue me. That way, I wouldn't be a danger to my family if anybody else saw me…like this."

The two friends placed their hands over their hearts, for which felt would break upon seeing the poor princess down on her knees, crying her eyes out. The poor thing, forced away from her family because of a curse. The two sat beside her, Bolin wrapping his arm around her while Asami patted her back in a sisterly manner.

"There there, it's not that bad." Bolin said in the most compassionate voice.

"Not that bad? Bolin, I don't even know what kind of faerie I'm supposed to be! At least you guys know what you are, I don't! Even among you guys I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak, you're…unique. And besides, those antlers make you look like you're wearing a crown which is a nice touch."

Korra really did appreciate his effort to make her feel better, but even his good-hearted efforts would be futile. Asami wiped away Korra's tears. She really really sorry for this poor child. But maybe, maybe she didn't have to be miserable.

"Korra, how about you don't marry Amon tomorrow." the fox faerie suggested compassionately.

"I have to. Only true love's kiss can break the spell. It's embarrassing enough I'm like this but I also have to rely on a kiss to get me back to my family."

"But, you know…when you think about it, you're a faerie outcast, and Mako…well, you have a lot in common."

"Mako?"

(~)

Speaking of Mako, the dragon faerie stood outside of the farmhouse. In his hand he held a panda lilly he found in the woods. The moment he saw it it reminded him of Korra. He still wasn't sure if this was a good idea, especially with the reality that she would me married to someone else tomorrow. But, he eventually realized he should at least open himself at least for once. This way, he wouldn't be stuck wondering what might have been. That was his rational side talking, but hopeful side was hoping she would say she felt the same way, which really was a long shot.

He took in a deep breath and began rehearsing what he would say. "Uh, hey Korra. How's it going? Good? Great, I'm good too. So, um, I was just taking a stroll and I found this panda lilly and thought about you because, it's really pretty and-well, I'm not really a big fan of flowers myself but I thought you would like it because you're really pretty-but I like you anyway and I…uh…" he face flamed himself, lowering his wings in dismay. "I'm in trouble." still, he wasn't about to let this stop him. Not this time. When would he ever get a chance to do this again. "Okay. Here we go."

With his heart thumping against his chest he approached the door, and just as he was about to knock he heard Korra's voice talking from inside.

"It's not that simple you guys. How can anyone with happy with a monster? A monster that doesn't fit in with humans or faeries? That's why I can't stay here with Mako. The only way for me to get everything back is to marry Amon. Don't you guys see? That's the way it has to be."

His eyes widened in shock, his heart suddenly stopped, feeling as though it were being stabbed with a knife and sliced in two. Did she really just call him a….a monster? Why would she say that? Was that really what she saw him as? That she could never be happy with him? That nobody could ever be happy with him? And she wasn't alone, she was talking to somebody, and the only other people she could have been speaking to were Bolin and Asami. And they were okay with this? Bolin was perfectly okay with this princess calling his brother, and in a way himself, a monster? Was Bolin really so ashamed of him now that he would listen to what a princess had to say? He was already getting close with Asami, who's to say he would have chosen to leave him after this whole thing was over?

Anger and heartache flowed within him, his fists clenching tightly before tossing the panda lilly down to the front door and walking away in anger. He should have known better than to follow his heart.

(~)

"It's the only way to break the spell so I can get back home to my family."

"Well you at least have to tell Mako the truth." Asami said.

"What, no!" Korra said as she quickly stood up, "He can't know. No one can ever know!"

Bolin groaned in annoyance as he and Asami both stood upright, "What's the point of having friends if you got to keep secrets from each other?" he said.

"Promise you won't tell. Promise!" the princess held her hands close to her heart, her blue eyes shimmering pleadingly at the green dragon faerie. He couldn't say no to those big blue eyes.

"Okay, okay, I promise." both him and Korra turned to Asami, who had her arms crossed and tapping her foot. She didn't feel right keeping this a secret. She knew Mako deserved to know, but when both Bolin and Korra began giving her the eyes she finally caved in.

"Fine! I won't tell him either. But _you_ should!" the fox faerie placed a lot of emphasis in that last sentence as well as pointing a finger at Korra, making more of a statement before she walked outside with Bolin behind her.

The dragon faerie sighed exasperatedly, "Wow! I did not see any of that coming!"

"Yeah. When this is over I'm gonna need a whole lot of serious therapy. Look at my eye twitching!" Asami's left eye began to twitch and Korra peeked through the door as the two left. Her eyes caught sight of something on the ground.

It was a beautiful panda lilly. She picked up the plant, gently caressing the soft black and white petals. A soft smile formed on her face, immediately knowing who it was from.

(~)

Korra couldn't even sleep last night. She paced back and forth, his long reptilian tail dragging behind her as she did and the feathers of her wings ruffling with anticipation. She thought long and hard about what her friends said. When she told Mako about her parents she was hesitant to tell him too much, but also felt terrible at keeping this secret from him. If anybody knew how it felt to be an outcast it was Mako. He didn't deserve to be alone, and she was cursed to be alone. She knew he didn't deserve that. He deserved better than what the world had given him. He deserved…he deserved to know the truth.

Korra had made up her mind. With the flower in her hand she walked outside, a smile appearing on her face as her heart raced. She opened the door, revealing her faerie form to the outside world.

"Mako!" she called out, "Mako, there's something I want to…" she stopped once she felt the warmth and heat of the sun already peeking up from the horizon. She had not realized it was already morning. The princess shielded her eyes from the sun's intensity once she felt its rays shower her with its glow. Her body began to shift and change, specks of sunlight circling all around her. Her hair was tied to a braid once more, her wings, tail, talons and antlers gone. She was human again. She was normal. For a moment she was happy to see her normal body form once again, but then quickly became disappointed. She wanted to tell Mako, and showing him her night form would surely be evidence enough she was telling the truth. Still, she couldn't turn back now. She quickly spotted her friend walking towards camp. Upon making eye contact Mako briefly stopped before carrying on. His eyes were narrowed and his pupils had become slits, which only happened when he was really angry.

"Mako! Are you okay?"

"Perfect! Never been better." he responded, his voice bitter and slowly rising in volume.

Korra was confused by his response. Why did he sound so angry? Non the less, she proceeded with telling him her secret. "I…there's something I have to tell you."

"You don't have to tell me anything, Princess. I heard enough last night."

"You heard what I said?!" the princess exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"Every word, so no need to repeat anything."

Korra was speechless. He had heard her conversation with Bolin and Asami, he knew her secret. No wonder he was upset, he must have felt hurt that she had not told him sooner. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I-"

"Oh, but you had no problem telling my brother and Asami, did you?" the dragon faerie rose his wings up, a common reaction for his kind whenever they felt angry or were ready to attack. His ears were pressed down against the side of his head, visually showcasing his anger all the more, as if if his slit eyes weren't enough already.

"I didn't plan on it, It just-"

"I'm surprised they took it so well."

Korra's heart pounded against her chest. She didn't mean to hurt him. "I thought you would understand." she said.

"Oh, I understand perfectly. Like you said; Who can ever be happy with a _monster?_ "

He made sure to place a lot of emphasis on the word "monster", which might as well have been a knife cutting directly at Korra's heart and slicing it in two. He thought _she_ was a monster? She was a faerie just like him, but was she too strange even for his kind? Or was it that she was a human/faerie freak of nature?

"But…I thought that wouldn't matter to you."

"Yeah, well, it does!"

Forget about the knife, Korra's heart was practically stomped on by a rock, shot with arrows and tossed into the ocean to sink down to the could unforgiving bottom. She couldn't even move. Her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't even look at him. She never imagined she could feel this broken in her entire life. She never wanted to have this feeling of abandonment and hatred again, but that was just her curse. Her faerie form would take away anybody she ever loved. Her parents, and now Mako. She wasn't a human, she wasn't a faerie. She was just as Mako said.

A monster.

She didn't even fling when she heard the sound of fanfare approaching, along with the sound of galloping hooves. "Ah, right on time." Mako said, his wings slowly closing, "Princess, I brought you a little something."

Korra gained the will to move her body and turned her head to see a group of men ridding horses approaching the group. They all wore full body metal armor and one man rose on a beautiful white stallion. He was tall and handsome, the perfect image of elegance, poise and strength. He appeared to be around his early to mid thirties and was very toned and muscular underneath his long sleeves. He wore a crown around his forehead and his eyes directly at Korra. His eyes were a chilling shade of icy blue that made Korra feel uncomfortable as he gazed upon her from top to bottom.

"Princess Korra." he said as he stopped his horse and dismounted it to approach the girl. He smiled in satisfaction, for she was even more beautiful than he had imagined. She would make a fine queen and future mother of his heir. "Job well done, dragon." he said to Mako.

"I did my end of the bargain, now about my-"

"Yes, yes, your swamp. You will be happy to know it has been cleared out of all the faeries just as you had asked. You may return whenever you wish. Though, I highly suggest you take the offer before it expires."

Bolin stretches his arms and yawned, "Man, nothing like a goodnight sleep, right buddy?" he said to a guard beside him. His eyes widened and he stepped back, looking around and seeing all the guards and Lord Amon right there. "What did I miss?"

Korra was slightly startled when Amon took both of her hands, gazing in her eyes and smiling the most charming smile. "Forgive me for startling you, Princess. But, you have startled me. For in all my years I have never seen such a radiant and exotic beauty such as yourself. I am Lord Amon."

"You're Amon?" she asked. So, this was the man she was promised to? She couldn't lie, he was indeed more handsome than she thought, but as good as his looks were that wasn't enough to heal her already aching heart. If anything, him being here only added salt to the wound. Her eyes briefly shifted to Mako, who stood a few feet back, his eyes looking down in anguish. She drew her attention back to the man before her.

"Oh, no, forgive me my lord." she said, speaking like the princess she truly was, "I was just…saying short farewell to my frie-I mean, traveling companions."

"That's very kind of you my dear, but you don't have to waste too much of your good manners on the dragon faerie. His heart is as thick as his skin."

Her eyes darted back to Mako, this time narrowing in his direction. "Yes…it is." she said, her voice cold like ice.

Amon gripped her hands a bit tighter and held them closer to his heart, taking Korra by surprise. "Princess Korra, I apologize for what you have endured in that tower, so I am offering you a chance at happiness, if you will accept." he got down on one knee, holding her hands, his eyes softening as he asked the big question, "Will you accept my proposal and marry me?"

The princess could hardly feel anything at this point. The pain in her heart numbed her body and clouded her mind. She didn't want to feel this pain anymore. She wanted to break free of this curse. If marrying Amon was the key to finally break free from all the pain and turmoil she had been through in that tower, her curse and the separation from her parents, then so be it.

"Lord Amon, I accept."

Even though he knew it was coming, Mako couldn't stop the pain he felt in his heart right now. This was coming, he saw it, but it still pained him non the less.

Amon stood up and wrapped his arm around his new fiance. "Excellent. We shall start the preparations immediately, for tomorrow we wed."

"No!" Korra's outburst made Amon slightly back away in shock. Even the three faeries looked at her in shock. Maybe she was having second thoughts, Bolin and Asami wondered. Maybe she would say she loved Mako and not Amon? Fingers crossed.

Korra quickly covered her mouth, brushing in embarrassment before recollecting what she had said, "I mean…why wait? Why don't we get married today, before sunset. After all, don't you think we've both waited long enough?"

Amon smirked at the idea, "As you wish, my dear." he said before snapping his fingers, "Mean, let's move."

Korra quickly walked up to Bolin and Asami, who were still shocked over what had just happened. "Korra, what are you doing?" Bolin asked, only to bur surprised when Korra hugged them both.

"Thanks. For everything." she said before releasing the two, who were still rather surprised. The princess then approached the dragon faerie, who still refused to look her way. "Congratulations." she said, "You finally got what you wanted."

"So did you." Mako replied, still not looking at her, "I hope you're happy."

"Yeah…you too." she replied, her eyes narrowing in anger and her voice still as cold as ice before heading back to her fiance. He assisted her onto the back of his horse before he yanked on the reins, making the mammal move forward. His men followed their lord as Korra looked back at the group, this time Mako finally looked back, only to see her slip right through his fingers.

Bolin snapped back to his senses, "Mako, what are you doing? You're letting her get away!"

"Yeah, so what?" Mako angrily shoved his brother aside as he walked by.

"Mako, you don't understand, Asami and I talked to her last night and-"

"I know you did! You're such great pals now, aren't you? Sharing secrets behind my back!"

Bolin was taken aback by his brother's words. He had never heard him speak to him like this. Asami quickly came over and intervened, "Mako, it's not what you think, just let us explain."

"Explain what? That my own brother would rather shut me out and have private conversations with a princess who doesn't even care about us? You know, the two of us were perfectly fine until _you_ came along!" Mako pointed an accusing finger at Asami, only to be shoved aside by his own brother, who glared at him in anger.

"That's enough! This isn't Asami's fault!"

"Why are you always taking her side?"

"I'm not taking sides! You know what I think, you just can't stand the idea of me actually finding a life outside of that smelly, slimy swamp because you want me to be just like you!"

"If that's the way you feel then don't worry about coming back!"

"Good, because I won't!"

"Good for you!"

"Enjoy your lonely life, bro!"

"I will!"

"Fine!"

" _Fine!_ " with that, Mako spread open his wing and flew off into the sky, leaving his brother and Asami behind. Bolin's wing lowered in dismay and Asami hung her head in shame. He wrapped his arm around her, showing this wasn't her fault. If Mako wanted to build a wall around his heart, then so be it.

(~)

Mako's sharp talon feet landed on the soft ground, overlooking his home. Just as Amon had said, all of the faeries were gone. Not a sight of one could be seen or heard. The only things that remained were the pieces of their campsite, but it wasn't anything Mako couldn't clean up.

Well, he did it. He got his home back. Only, he lost his brother in the process. Might as well, since Bolin never liked living her so much anyway, and after he met Asami he was more than eager to go wherever she went instead of the two sticking together like they used to. He always thought it would be him and Bolin against the world, but his curious brother always wanted a life out of the swamp, while Mako would rather live there, away from the cold harsh world. He never could understand what Bolin saw in the outside world. It was dark and cruel, no matter what, he knew that was a fact.

But then, he met Korra.

She wasn't like other humans. Sure, she wasn't too happy to meet him at first (the feeling was mutual at the time), but he quickly came to realize she wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. She was brave, funny, kind and clever. She was never afraid to say what was on her mind, or to call him out if he did something dumb every time he did it. Like when he tried to swat a bee away from his face and she kept telling him to stop only to have the bee stink his finger. She gave him an "I told you so", but that only made him like her more. She was her own person, he didn't care if she was a human. In fact, she could have been a human, or a faerie and he would even care. It was her spirit that captivated him.

But, it was all too good to be true. Just when he least expected it, she called him a monster. The same word he had been called before by everyone else in the world. He thought she was different, but she was just like everybody else. He even thought Asami could actually be a friend, and a good enough match for his brother, but they both sided with her even after what she said. Bolin and Asami would rather be with her, a princess who called them monsters instead of him. HIs brother wanted out of their life, Asami wanted a companion, and Korra wanted her prince charming. Well, looks like they all got what they wanted.

Or did they?

(~)

Korra gazed at her reflection in the mirror as the seamstress made her wedding gown. It was as beautiful as the ones she would see in the portraits of her mother's wedding. Amon had sent a letter inviting her parents, but she wasn't so sure they would arrive today. It would take them days just to get here. It was a real shame, her own parents couldn't even be here on her wedding day.

Her wedding day…she always believed those words would bring her joy, but now they only brought her misery.

She didn't want to marry Amon, she knew that. She barely knew him and wondered how she would make a marriage work when she didn't even know the guy. Would true love's kiss even work. None of this was making any sense. Mako was the one who destroyed the pythonaconda, and only her true love could do that, but then he goes and calls her a monster?

She thought he was different. She was disappointed her rescuer was a faerie, but upon knowing him he wasn't all that bad. Sure he was rather grumpy, stubborn and very no-nonsense…but he was also sweet, sensitive and even thoughtful when he wanted to be. By showing him kindness he showed her kindness. He had a good heart underneath those hard scales, she knew that. But, maybe she had been fooling herself. He found out about her secret and called her a monster. Now she was sure she made the right choice in not telling him sooner, or maybe if she had she wouldn't be having these second thoughts.

She would miss his laugh, his courage and his somewhat sense of humor. He was no prince charming, that was for sure, she she still cared about him either way. Even after he had hurt her she still cared about him. How was it possible to care about somebody who had hurt you?

Well, _she_ did. They both did. Maybe what they had originally wanted, wasn't what they really needed after all. But it was too late for them to turn back now. Mako had his home back and that was where he would be staying. Korra would break her curse, and that was the end of that.

A happy ending…right?

(~)

 **Two more chapters left. BTW, Korra's faerie form is based on that of the Dragon Bird from book 2. Also, should I include "I'm a Believer"? Let me know what you guys think.**

 **Wow, this story has been a roller coaster for me, I haven't felt this inspired in a while! It's a great way to get my creative juices flowing again! i hope the same will go for my other works. Fingers crossed.**


	8. True Love conquers all

(~)

The sound of wood and rocks moving caught Mako's attention as he stepped outside of his cottage. His eyes widened in surprised upon seeing the two faeries he had said goodbye to earlier that same day.

"Bolin? Asami?"

The two faeries were constructing what appeared be some kind of fort using rocks and logs. Mako walked on over, arching an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, I thought _you_ of all people would recognize a wall when you see one." Bolin spatted, his voice sounding anything but his usual cheery tone. He was still clearly very ticked off with his brother, as was Asami, who simply ignored him as she continued to work, placing the long logs in place and using the stones as support.

"You do know a wall is supposed to go _around_ the swamp, not through it, right?"

"Oh, it is. Around your half, see." Asami said, finally addressing to the red dragon faerie. "That's your half and this is our half."

" _Your_ half?"

"That's right. Technically, this swamp still belongs to Bolin, so he gets half the property. Not to mention, we were both a part of this little quest so _we_ get half the reward."

"That includes Asami." Bolin said, crossing his arms, "Speaking of which, Sami you mind handing me that big rock over there? The one that looks like Mako's head."

"Gladly." the fox faerie wiped her tail before getting the rock, but stopped midway when Mako began tearing the wall apart, removing the logs and breaking them in half. "Hey!" Asami quickly grabbed hold of the log Mako was holding and yanked on it, demanding he let go.

"Let go!" Mako exclaimed angrily as he pulled on the log.

"No, _you_ let go!"

"This is _my_ home!"

"It's _ours_ too!"

"Obnoxious fox!"

"Stubborn dragon!"

"Fine!" Mako released the log just as Asami pulled on it, causing her to fall flat on her back. The dragon tossed the log aside and began to walk away.

"Hey! get back here, I'm not through with you yet!"

"Oh yeah, well I'm through with both of you!" Mako was startled when Bolin landed right in front of him, his eyes becoming slits, a sure sign he was fuming mad right now. Mako had never seen his brother like this unless they were trying to scare away somebody. This was the first time ever in which Bolin exposed his dragon side to his brother. He meant business this time.

"You know what, bro? Ever since mom and dad died I've let you call all the shots. _You_ set up the rules, _you_ looked after me and you always, _always_ told me what I should or should do, and I always listened. Well guess what…" to Mako's surprised, Bolin grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the side of a tree with brute force. " _Now_ it's my turn! So for once, you _shut up_ and listen to _me_! I know it was hard on you after our parents died, I get that. But you've allowed your grief to take control of your life. You keep us both trapped in this swamp the same way Korra was trapped in that tower! But unlike her, we had a choice yet you made it seem like we didn't. You never _once_ thought about how _I_ felt about it!"

"And when you do have a chance at happiness you toss it aside!" Asami exclaimed, "Since the day we met you have been mean to me, you insult me, and you don't appreciate anything I do! When you're not pushing others around you're pushing them away!"

Mako's anger grew as he managed to overpower his brother, even for a moment, to speak up, "Oh yeah? Well, if I made you guys so miserable how come you came back?"

"Because that's what friends do! _They forgive each other!_ "

The dragon faerie took in a deep breath, calming down, "You guys are right. I forgive you… _for stabbing me in the back!_ " Mako spun around so rapidly he literally zipped away and flew right into the cottage, slamming the door once he entered.

Asami had her claws out, ready to claw anything in sight while growling in frustration. "You know what, maybe it's not humans that are the problem, Mako. Maybe, you're just too proud to admit when you're wrong!"

"Go away!" Mako shouted from inside the cottage.

"There you go, pushing everybody away, just like you did to Korra, and all she ever did was like you. Maybe even love you!"

"Love me? She called me a monster! I heard the three of you talking, I know what she really thinks about me!"

"She wasn't talking about you, she was talking about herse-" Asami was silenced when Bolin quickly covered her mouth.

"Somebody else!" he added before releasing Asami's mouth, "Look, bro, I'm not entirely sure what it was you heard, but she never once called you a monster. We swear."

The cottage was silent before the door creaked open. Mako's eyes softened as he stepped outside. "She wasn't talking about me? She…she doesn't think I'm a monster?"

Bolin gently shook his head, "Not at all." he said. Mako could tell when his brother was being honest and upfront, and this time he really was. So, it was all a big misunderstanding. Mako felt so stupid. Asami was right, he let his pride get the better of him and he didn't give Korra chance to explain.

"But then, who was she talking about?"

"Oh, _now_ you want to hear what we have to say? Well, forget it, you don't want to listen to us, right?" Bolin crossed his arms and turned away from his brother. Asami followed his example.

"Bolin."

"No!"

"Asami."

"Talk to the left paw, because you ain't right!" the fox faerie said before lowering his left paw/hand and crossed her arms once more, both her and Bolin turning away from the dragon faerie, who sighed in frustration.

"Aright! I'm sorry, okay?" he said. But, this apology wasn't enough for the two of them. He wasn't being sincere. It was then, Mako realized who the real monster here was. It wasn't the humans, it wasn't Korra, it wasn't his brother or Asami…it was himself. He was the one who isolated his brother due to his won grief, he was the one who was mean to Asami from the start, and he was the one who pushed Korra away instead of listening to her. His fear, pride and grief have been what kept him from seeing there was more to the world than people calling him a monster. Not all humans were alike, he now knew that thanks to Korra, and not all faeries were afraid of dragon faeries, just like Asami wasn't, and while he tried to protect his brother from the outside world, he had been keeping him prisoner in the process. For so long, Mako thought of himself as the victim, but he was no better than the ones who persecuted him for doing what he did to these three people he cared about.

"I'm sorry." he said. This time, his voice was sincere and he spoke from his heart. "Really. I guess I am just a big, stupid, stubborn dragon. Can you forgive me?"

He grew worried when the two didn't turn their heads to face him, and when they did they looked at him in anger…before smiling. "Of course I do. You're my big brother and I love you."

"I love you too, little brother."

Asami smiled as she watched the heartwarming moment the two brothers shared. They really were close, despite their arguments. Once the hug ended, Mako faced Asami. "And you, fox?"

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Right." he extended his hand for her to shake, "Friends?" he asked hopefully, only to be surprised when Asami wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him.

"Friends."

Mako smiled and returned the hug. At long last, he finally accepted the sassy fox as his friend. After the hug, Mako bit his bottom lip before asking, "So…what did Korra say about me, exactly?"

"Why are you asking us for?" Bolin said, "Why don't you go ask her."

At that moment, the three of them came to a startling conclusion, " _The wedding!_ "

"We have to move now!" Asami said, "How's your wing?"

"It's better."

"Well what are you waiting for? Flap those things and let's go!"

"Right!" both Mako and Bolin spread open their wings, squatted down and zoomed off into the sky, causing the leaves to rise up as well as the dust. Asami stood there with a deadpan expression while tapping her foot…a few seconds latter, Bolin and Mako came down, "Sorry."

"Yeah, okay." Asami extended her hands and the two brothers lifted her up, hurrying back to Navalon to stop the wedding before it was too late.

(~)

It took all of her willpower not to shed tears right then and there. Good thing the veil covered her face, though only partly due to its transparency, but still at least the tears would be camouflaged with the whiteness of the veil, or be mistaken for tears of joy, for which they were not. The church was packed with an assortment of guests, for which Korra recognized non of them. What was the point of being happy on her wedding day if non of your friends and family could be there?

At the end of the alter stood her groom. Tall and handsome, wearing the appropriate garments for a king. His white vest was adorned with gold lining and his long cape shimmered in the light. With his hands behind his back he stood perfectly straight. Amon was indeed the picture perfect man…but it wasn't enough for Korra.

She approached the alter, holding her bouquet of flowers, which were panda lilies. It really didn't help that the flowers they had chosen for her were the same flower Mako had given her the night before he broke her heart. Still, she didn't have the will to tell them to change them. Might as well have something to remember him, at least this way she could get through today. Her eyes shifted to the stain glass windows, seeing the sun over the horizon. Only a few more moments and they would kiss and her curse would be lifted. She would be free. She'd in a loveless marriage, but at least she would be free from the curse and see her parents again.

Break the spell first then work out her new relationship.

The priest cleared his throat and began reading from the book. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bare witness to the union of our new king and his-"

"Um, excuse me." Korra interrupted. The sun was setting faster than she had hopped and the priest was taking too much time as it was. "Can we just skip to the "I do's". Please?"

Amon only chuckled lightly. Even his laugh was dignified. "Go on, good man."

(~)

The moment the brothers arrived they received and not so warm welcoming. The guards posted out front aimed their weapons at the group, but Asami flipped down and kicked them down as she landed. Being a fox and all, she was incredibly slick, moving so quickly the men could barely keep up. Mako unleashed his fire to frightened the remaining guards and Bolin tossed a few aside using his massive strength. The group made their way to the chapel but not before Asami rushed on ahead, stopping them. "Mako, wait, wait, wait, wait a second!"

"What is it now?"

"There's a line, the priest is going to say; "Speak now or forever hold your peace" and that's when you barge in and say "I object!"

"I don't have time for this!" Mako roughly made his way past her, only to be stopped once again. This time by his brother.

"Look, you love this girl, right?"

"Yes."

"You want to hold her?"

"Yes."

"Please her?!"

"Yes!"

"Then you've _gotta, gotta try a little tenderness!_ The chicks love that romantic stuff!"

"Alright! When does this guy say the line?"

"I think he just said it!" Asami shouted from above. She had had climbed up the wall to peak inside through the stain glass window while the two brothers were talking.

"Oh, for the love of pete!" Mako shoved his brother aside and opened the two large doors, entering the chapel exclaiming, "I object!"

The audience gasped in hour upon seeing an actual faerie inside the church. And not just any faerie, but a dragon faerie! Men held their wives and daughters closely, several women fainted at the sight of him, and a few children either looked on with wide eyes or were only seconds away from crying. Korra could not believe her own eyes. He was here. Mako was actually here. But why?

Amon narrowed his eyes at the young faerie. "What does he want now?" he asked to himself, but it did not go unheard by Korra, who removed the veil from her face to get a better look.

"Mako?"

The dragon faerie walked towards the alter, shyly waving at the audience. He had never been around these many humans before. It was quite overwhelming to say the least. He didn't know if to say he came in peace, or to just say hello.

"Um…hey, everybody. How's it going? I'm not gonna eat anyone, okay. Just making that clear."

"What are you doing here?" Korra asked him, curious as to how and why he was here. She thought he wanted nothing to do with her, and now he just bursted in, interrupting her wedding. She didn't know what to feel at this point.

"Really, if I had wanted you to come I would have invited you." said Amon, remaining calm and composed, "And I am more than certain you had not received an invitation."

Mako simply ignored the man and focused his attention on the bride. "Korra, I need to talk to you."

"Oh, _now_ you want to talk?" Korra crossed her arms. She couldn't believe, after the what he said to her he had the nerve to come and want to talk to her now of all times? She scoffed, "Well, you can save your breath. You've made it perfectly clear how you feel about-"

"No, I haven't!" Mako said, only to reel back once he realized his outburst, "And, I interrupted again. Sorry."

"Mako, why are you here, really?"

"I wanted to say I'm sorry! I thought when you said nobody could ever be happy with a monster that you were talking about me."

"Why do you think I was talking about you?"

"Because I was scared!" the entire chapel fell into silence after Mako's upfront confession. A dragon faerie being scared? Nobody had ever heard such a thing before. Nonetheless, Mako continued, "I was scared of being abandoned like always. I was scared that you'd be like everybody else."

"I'm not like everybody else." Korra said.

"No. You're not. Look, sometimes you can be infuriating. You're strong-willed, fiery, assertive and you're fearless to the point of being a bit reckless." he paused before continuing, "But, you're also the most loyal, brave, intelligent, spirited and most selfless person I have ever known. You healed my wing after I was hurt, you took down an entire clan of hunters all by yourself, and you take the time out of your day to help even a little butterfly out of a spider web."

His words filled Korra's heart with so much joy. He was healing the wound he himself had created in her heart, and she could tell from his eyes he was telling her the truth.

"You deserve happiness, that's why you can't marry Amon."

Upon hearing this, the crowd reacted as did Amon, who stepped forward, shielding Korra from Mako's view. "What makes you think she won't be happy with me?"

"Well, for one thing you're only marrying her so you can be king! You don't care about her, you don't know anything about her!"

"Oh, and you do?"

"I know she's too good for a selfish, greedy monster like you!"

"I am not the monster here, boy. _You_ are." Amon was just about ready to give the faerie a piece of his mind, until he was suddenly pushed aside by Korra. The princess strongly shoved the man away from her and she stood before him, narrowing her eyes.

"You're wrong, Amon. Mako isn't the monster. None of them are! Maybe if you stopped being so afraid of faeries you'd learn they're not so different from us!" the building was silent. Korra turned her gaze at Mako, smiling softly. "I know first hand."

Asami was practically swooning over the scene while Bolin was trying his hardest to fight back the tears. The two then gasped once they noticed the increasing size of their shadows and the change in lighting that came through the windows. Their eyes widened as the sun began to set over the horizon.

"Korra! The sun!"

The princess turned her head to see the large yellow orb lowering down behind the mountains far up ahead. The curse would be activated once more, right here in front of everybody. Mako took a chance upon coming into a room full of humans knowing they would reject him, now it was Korra's turn to let go of her fears. " _By night one way…by day, another…_ " she turned to Mako and then Amon before finally looking upon the confused expressions of the audience. She took a few steps back towards the window where the sun was setting. "You were right about one thing, Mako. I was talking about a monster. But it wasn't you."

The princess stood still, allowing the rays of the sun to shower her with its light as she closed her eyes. Right before their very eyes, the princess' body began to glow, emitting a shimmering heavenly light that brightened the entire room, increasing the beauty of the stained glass windows. Wings grew from her back, a tail extended before resting elegantly onto the ground like a dress. Bird-like talons replaced her feet and beautiful dear-like antlers formed on the side of her head. Once the light dimmed, the audience gasped in shock upon seeing the princess, now having transformed into some kind of faerie-like creature.

Korra opened her eyes, already expecting to see their reactions, but even more nervous upon seeing Mako's. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open, but he did not appear frightened in the least. His reaction was really more one of incredible surprise than anger or horror. Korra definitely looked different, but her face remained the same, especially her eyes which were the gateways to her soul. She smiled nervously, awaiting his response.

"Well, um…that, that definitely explains a whole lot." he said, a smile beginning to form on his lips, making Korra blush. "But, why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because I was scared." Korra confessed, looking down at the ground in shame, "I mean, look at me." she extended her arms, showcasing her new form, her feathered wings slightly opened to showcase the feathers. But Mako did not seem phased at all, if anything he didn't stop smiling as he took her hands, and gazed into her eyes.

"I am." he said as he caressed her cheek lovingly. Korra placed her hand over his, grippingly it lightly. For the first time, neither of them felt like a monster.

"You!" the two faeries turned her heads to Amon, who's pale blue eyes were open wide in hour, shock and even growing anger. "You're a faerie? I almost married a faerie?! _A freak of nature?!_ " the people of Navalon had never seen their leader like this before. His eyes which normally carried a sense of dignity and leadership had been replaced with a look or pure hatred. "I have spent years trying to rid this kingdom of you monsters. I tried to be fair with you. I tried to reason with you, I offered you your home and in exchange you brought me this _thing_ to take as my queen?!"

"Hey, we didn't know!" Bolin exclaimed, only to receive annoyed glances from Asami and Mako.

"Bolin, not the time." said the fox faerie.

"Right, right. Sorry."

"Guards! Take these creatures out of my sight!" upon Amon's orders, and to try audience's horror, numerous guards came up to the alter in an attempt to subdue the faeries. One released a bola which wrapped around Asami and Bolin's legs, tripping them before one guard grabbed Bolin's wrists, bounding them to shackles.

Mako and Korra rushed to help their friends but were soon cornered by the guards. At first glance, it appeared all was lost for the faeries. But, that was because these humans didn't know these faeries all that well. Korra and Mako shared matching grins before leaping up, spreading their wings open and hovering above the altar. With the strength of her powerful feathered wings, Korra swooped down, punching one of the guards right in the face, which sent him flying back and colliding with the other guards, knocking them down into a pile. The faerie princess smiled smugly, pounding her fists.

"Who's next?"

One guard came at her, but Korra crunched down and knocked him over with her tail, which was incredibly powerful. Another guard came from behind, only to be knocked down by Mako who clawed at him, separating him from Korra, who smiled. "Nice one."

"You're not so bad yourself." he said with a smirk, just when another guard came at him, but Mako easily punched him from behind, not even bothering to turn around. The guard fell down, groaning in pain.

Amon watched in anger as the two faeries seemed to be pulverizing his men one by one. Korra rammed towards the guards who had Asami and Bolin bounded in chains, grabbing them by the shoulders, lifting them over her head and tossing them aside. Then, Korra did the most amazing thing Asami, Bolin or Mako had ever seen her do.

Opening her mouth, Korra breathed fire into the chains, melting them and allowing Bolin to easily break them apart. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"How do you think I cooked my food?" the princess said. Once freeing her friends she continued fighting off against the guards, with Asami and Bolin's help.

Mako was having a blast besting these guards, who were really no match for him. He wiped them with his tail, tossed them aside with his bear hands, and scared them off with his fire, trying his best not to harm the audience of course.

"Mako, behind you!" Korra cried out, but it was far too late. A large chain had lunged out and wrapped itself around Mako's arm. The dragon faerie roared in anger upon seeing that it was Amon who had chained him up. Mako readied to breath fire once more, but another guard lunged forward, tackling Mako to the ground, forcing a metallic muzzle onto his face, preventing him from breathing fire.

Korra lunged forward to Amon, knocking him down. Her eyes becoming slits and she released a mighty roar at the tyrannical ruler. "I thank the stars I didn't marry you." he said, with venom in his voice.

"The feeling's mutual!" Korra roared back, right before a roar of pain escaped her. An arrow had flow out and pierced her arm. Amon took the chance to toss her aside, the injured princess rolled onto the ground, only a few inches away from Mako, who was now overpowered by an entree number of guards. Even Bolin and Asami were subdued once more. The audience gasped upon seeing the faeries captured and one already injured. Korra grunted as she tried to get up. She removed the arrow from her arm, but was already bleeding. She and Mako looked at one another, their eyes longing for the other. Mako was chained up like an animal and Korra had been wounded.

Amon adjusted himself, sleeked his hair back and addressed to the crowd. "You see why we can not coexist with these creatures? These savages are only suited for the wild, not here with us. Especially _that_ abomination!" his pointed an accusing finger at the princess, who growled at him in anger. "Rest assured, a fair and fitting punishment shall be-"

"Mommy, is she crying?" a voice from the audience spoke. The voice of an innocent little girl, who pointed her little finger towards the injured princess…who was indeed crying. Tears rolled down from her eyes, which startled the audience.

"Amon said faeries never cry." one voice said.

"He also said they couldn't love." said another, "But that dragon is in love with a princess."

Amon was at a loss for words. One by one, the audience began to chattering with one another, regarding what they had just seen. "What?! What is wrong with you? Don't you see, they tried to destroy us!"

"Yeah, only because _you_ attacked us first!" Asami stated.

Bolin nodded in agreement, "Yeah!" he exclaimed before addressing to the crowd, managing to wiggle a bit from the guard holding him back, "Look, I know we faeries don't have the best reputation with humans, but in our defense you guys don't either."

"Uh, Bolin, what are you doing?" Asami asked, arching an eyebrow as Bolin continued speaking with the crowd of humans.

"I'm sorry we scared you, and I'm sorry if our kind did anything to hurt you in the past. But, just as not all humans are so bad not all faeries are bad either. I mean, I have never seen my brother so happy before until he met Korra, a _human_ princess. I never thought that was possible. Even dragon faeries are feared by other faeries, but Asami gave us a chance. You can't judge a book by its cover, or a princess by her crown or a dragon by his scales. Besides, my brother came all the way here just to tell this girl how he feels. Can you really hate a guy for sharing his heart with the woman he loves?"

For a moment, the chapel was silent. The others didn't know how it was possible, but Bolin managed to get everyone's attention. He really did have a way with words, it would seem.

"Amon." Korra spoke up, her teary eyes looking directly into his as she tore apart a piece of her wedding dress to wrap around her wound. "How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" he asked.

"Yes. Despite my form I'm still a princess a blood, so if you marry me you still get to be king, and once you are…you can put me back to that tower."

"Korra, no!" Mako protested, the guards restraining him held him back and the muzzle around his mouth was tightened.

"You can still have your crown and your kingdom, I''m cooperate, but only if you'll let them go. Leave the faeries be."

Amon narrowed his eyes at the child, "And if I refuse?"

"Then good luck finding another eligible princess to marry. Besides, you're not getting any younger."

As much as the lord despised the notion of marrying this creature, she did make a valid point. Once the marriage is binding that would make him king. Besides, he just needed to marry her, he didn't have to love her.

"Very well." he finally replied, angering Mako, who's eyes became slits once more. The crowd gasped in shock and the man turned back to the priest. "Marry us. Now!"

The priest quivered as he opened the book once more. "Um…Lord Amon, do you take this princess to be your wife?"

"I do." the man smiled wickedly, he was only moment away from his crown and getting rid of all these faeries for good.

"Korra, you can't do this!" Mako cried, using every bit of his strength to fight against the guards.

"No, Mako!" the princess cried out back to him.

"I can't let you do this!"

"And I can't let him hurt you or anybody else."

The priest immediately felt sympathy for the two faeries before letting out a frightened yelp when Amon shouted angrily, "Get on with it!"

"A-a-and do you Princess Korra take….take…" the man couldn't continue. This didn't feel right at all.

"Do it now you fool!"

"Let them go!" a voice cried out from the audience. It was a young girl who had stood up, addressing to the angry groom.

"Sit back down, child." Amon ordered, but was shocked to see that the girl's parents stood up as well. One by one, the people inside the chapel stood up, sharing angry glares at the man before them. A man who forced an innocent into marrying him just so he could get a crown was not a man fit to rule them at all.

Even the priest finally found the courage to speak, "If I am to wed a man and a woman in holy matrimony…it should be for love, not for a crown."

"What?!" with his fists clenched tightly, Amon made his way towards the priest, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him upwards. "You incompetent fool! You dare to ignore my orders?! I am the rightful ruler of this kingdom! My Kingdom! _Me! Do you understand?!_ " the man tightened his grip around the priest's neck, strangling him. Amon suddenly felt a hand tighten on his shoulder before forcing him to turn his head, only to receive the biggest sucker punch he had ever experienced. The impact caused him to loosen his grip on the priest, and the man fell to the ground. Korra assisted the priest, who gasped for air. This act was the final straw for the people.

One by one, the guards released the faeries, even removing the metallic muzzle from Mako's face and unbinding his chains. Asami's eyes darted all around in confusion. "What just happened?" she asked.

Mako shared the same confusion as he walked up to Korra. "But, I thought-you said-and he-"

"Yeah, well that was before he tried to strangle a priest." Korra stated, while gripping her now bandaged arm.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." the princess said with a reassuring smile. The two then noticed the audience looking at them, only they didn't appear frightened or angry, rather they looked…okay. Nobody was shouting 'monster' or claiming they had harms Amon. After what he had just done, the people of Navalon now knew their tyrannical ruler for what he truly was. When he didn't get what he wanted when he wanted, he lost all trust from his people. Asami and Bolin nodded their heads to Mako, telling him to finish what he started.

The older brother couldn't agree more. He opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped when Amon stood back up, now with a black eye on the left side of his face. Only, to his horror, his own guards held him down. "What? What are you doing? Get them you idiots! They're the monsters, get them! Get-" the lord was silenced when one of the guards placed the muzzle around his face. It was meant for a monster, so now it was put to good use.

Mako took this chance to finally tell Korra the truth that was in his heart. "Korra…"

"Yes, Mako?"

"I…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For what I said before. I never should have let my fear get the better of me like that."

"I'm sorry too. I should have told you the truth."

"It's okay, we both said some things we regret."

"So, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That you came all the way here to tell me how you felt?" Korra eyes sparkled with hope. She hoped this were true.

Mako's face blushed with red and his ears lowered in the shyest way before nodding. "Yes. I wanted…I needed to tell you that…I love you, Korra."

The princess felt her heart would leap right out of her chest, her ears and wings rising up happily, "Really?"

"Really, really."

"I love you too."

Asami was practically bitting her knuckles at this point, "Get a grip, Asami. Don't cry. Don't cry." she said, right before bursting into tears with Bolin comforting her. He too was crying. The two faeries leaned forward and their lips touched. The crowd smiled and clapped happily as the two shared True Love's First kiss. Mako never knew he could feel such happiness before, but here he was, kissing the woman he loved. For the first time in his life, he felt he had found his happy ending.

Gasps of wonder came from the crowd when Korra's body began to glow brightly and a shimmering white smoke began lifting her upwards, ending the kiss. Mako watched in awe as Korra was being showered with sparkles of light, landing on her body, gently twirling her around and the smoke began to consume her like a cocoon. Rays of sunlight emitted from the girl's body, creating a blinding light that filled the entire chapel. Several people shielded their eyes from the powerful light which then released a shockwave that broke every stained glass window in the building. The light began to dimmer as Korra was slowly lowered down, the white smoke disappearing once her body now laid on the ground. Nothing about her had changed, her wings, antlers and talons were still present.

"Korra?" Mako approached the princess, helping her to stand back up. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, but…" Korra looked down at her faerie body in confusion. "But I don't understand. I'm supposed to be me again."

"What are you talking about? You are you." he said, earning a confused look from the princess, "Faerie or human, you're still the same Korra."

"But, the whole reason I was in that tower was because people were afraid of me as this. How can I go back to my family now?"

"Look around." Mako showed her the rest of the room, which was filled with humans. "Do they look scared to you?"

A smile grew on Korra's face. Nobody was running away from her last before. They didn't even bat an eye. Her curse was broken, she was no longer forced to shift between forms anymore. But even with her new body, her spirit remained the same. The same spirit Mako had fallen in love with. The two happily kissed once more, and the entire room burst into applauds, and even a few happy tears were shed…mostly from Bolin and Asami.

"I was hoping this would be a happy ending!" the younger brother said in between sobs.

But, not everybody was happy. Amon was still furious as to this dragon faerie stealing his bride, even if he didn't love her. He took away his chances at becoming king. He should have known better than to trust a faerie.

"So, what do we do about him?" Asami asked out loud after Korra and Mako ended their kiss.

"I think I know some people who can help with that." the princess said with a wink.

(~)

The doors opened and a guard panted for air once he entered the room where the king and queen sat. The man's eyes were wide in awe. He never thought this day would arrive. Upon hearing what he had to say, the two rushed to the door but hesitated. Sharing a glance they opened the door and were, needless to say, startled upon seeing the two creatures standing before them.

It was in the middle of the day, which meant she should have been human, but she wasn't. She was a faerie still. The king and queen slowly approached the girl, her blue eyes widening with concern as the queen approached. Their eyes were a perfect match, as well as their faces. The queen reached out her hand to cup the faerie's cheek as tears began to roll down her eyes.

"Korra? Is it really…?"

"Yeah, mom. I'm home."

"But…but how are you-"

"The curse if broken. Only, it wasn't a prince or a knight who rescued me." she turned her head and extended her hand, allowing Mako to take it. No words could express how nervous he felt upon seeing the royal couple. To his relief, they did not reject them. They saw the sparkle the two had in their eyes. They knew it well. True love did break their daughter's curse, and she had taken love's true from. Who'd have thought it would come from a dragon faerie.

The queen embraced her daughter, weeping on her shoulder. "Korra, we're so sorry! We never wanted to send you away."

"I know you didn't. I agreed to do it, remember?"

"I know. But it pained us to have you go through all of that."

The king approached his daughter, tears streaming down his eyes as he cupped her face, "We love you, sweetheart. No matter what you look like. We always have and we always will."

"I know. I love you guys too." the royal family enwrapped one another in a tight embrace, finally being reunited for the first tim in so many years. The king looked up at Mako and extended his hand. The faerie shook it, but it wasn't for shaking. The strong king pulled Mako inward, inviting him to join in the hug.

After all, he would be part of their family as well.

(~)


	9. I'm a Believer

(~)

Flower petals fell all around the newlyweds who shared yet another true love's kiss. In the forest, Korra and Mako were wed, with Korra's father ministering the ceremony himself. He couldn't have been prouder of the two. Thanks to him and his wife, Navalon was in better care. They had their old friend Duke Tenzin take charge of the kingdom before he was eventually appointed the new Lord of the Navalon, giving the kingdom the first of many to have an elective leader. Amon was punished for his attempt at murder and was thrown in prison, never to be seen or heard from again.

The wedding was a beautiful ceremony, surrounded by nature and an assortment of friends and family, both human and faerie. Mako never would have imagined he would be surrounded by so many new friends, or have found somebody to love and who loved him back. For so long, he believed this kind of thing only happened in fairytales and never for somebody like him. But, the moment he gazed into Korra's eyes, he finally believed.

In the end, everybody got what they had always wanted. Bolin finally got a chance to see more of the world, having made a few human friends almost effortlessly, and Asami finally found a family of her own. Korra's curse was finally lifted, she was reunited with her family and have found her one true love. And Mako finally relinquished his fear of rejection and pride of his view of the world, finding true happiness at long last. He was still a ferocious dragon faerie, but who said they couldn't get Happily Ever Afters either?

He became a true believe after that.

Before the two would leave for their honeymoon, Korra tossed her bouquet into the air, where various women fought tooth and nail for it, only for it to land in Asami's hand. The fox faerie smiled at her date, Bolin, who blushed and looked over at his brother, who gave him a thumbs up. Before Bolin could say anything, Asami dipped him before kissing him full on the lips, to which he returned. Looks like Korra and Mako weren't the only ones to have found their true love.

As the royal carriage rode off into the sunset, and everyone bid farewell to the happy couple Korra realized something. "What is it?" her husband asked.

"You do know we have wings, right?"

Mako smirked before asking the driver to stop. The two exited the carriage and just flew off into the sky. Why need a carriage when they can soar through the endless clouds. Asami and Bolin only laughed as they watched the two flying gracefully across the sky like a dream.

And they all lived, Happily Ever…

"Come on, now!" Bolin grabbed a mike and began singing a familiar song we all know and love, with a band playing behind him, and Asami dancing beside him.

 _Then I saw her face!_

 _Now I'm a believer_

 _Not a trace_

 _Of doubt in my mind_

 _I'm in love_

 _Oh, oh_

 _I'm a believer_

 _I couldn't leave her if I tried_

Asami took the mic and started singing as well, _Then I saw your face!_

 _Now I'm a believer!_ The two sang together as the entire kingdom celebrated.

 _Not a trace_

 _Of doubt in my mind_

 _One more time!_

 _I'm in love!_

 _I'm a believer!_

 _I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe_

 _Hey!_

 _I believe!_

 _I believe!_

 _I believe!_

 _I believe!_

 _I believe!_

 _I believe!_

 _We believe!_

Korra and Mako's love story would be told for generations to come. A story that was unique from all the others. Because, it was _their_ story.

And so, this time, they all lived Happily Ever After

(~)

 **A happy ending for everybody. Except Amon. I was stumped on that previous chapter, but here it is, the story is finally done.**

 **Let me know what you guys think and thank you so much for reading. God bless, *kiss kiss***


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